Warframe : Heart
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: The heart is a very important organ in any flesh based being. Without the heart, the body dies. It is a small wonder that many cultures believed that the heart contained the soul of a being. A wise head must rule a strong heart or bad things follow. This is a fanfiction, I own none of the rights to Warframe.
1. Chapter 1

**Heart**

The Grineer had no clue.

The forces of the Grineer Empire had been described by many people as endless for a reason. Untold ages of cloning had resulted in untold numbers of clones. No one had really bothered to count after the first billion. There really didn't seem to be much of a point. There were lots of Grineer. That was enough for most.

Not all.

 _Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…_

The silent counting continued as the Grineer encampment on the Plains of Eidolon took shape around them. Say what you would about the clones, as long as what they were doing did not require a great deal of brainpower, they did what they did fast. It wasn't pretty but it was almost always sturdy and that made up for a lot of things in this crazy fallen world.

 _Thirty four, thirty five, thirty six…_

Most of the Grineer encampment was done and now defenses started to rise on the highest parts of the structures. A Rampart took form as a pair of Tusk Lancers moved the pieces into position and slotted them into place. Two turrets extended from their housings with solid 'clank's. They started their sweeps, not seeing anything out of the ordinary in this corner of the plains. Grineer tech had its limits. Especially here. Why waste really good tech on clones that could be replaced in a matter of minutes? That made no sense.

 _And...fifty._

The counting stopped as a form distinctly different from any of the Grineer marines appeared in the midst of the camp. He wore the same armor as the Tusk Lancers but the color was different. The only other visual difference was that he was carrying a Karak Wraith rifle instead of the standard issue Hind. But it was the icon that glowed around him that had the silent counter tensing.

 _Target sighted._

The words were silent and none of the clones noticed anything as the hidden form moved slowly and carefully towards the now kneeling Grineer Commander. A shadow swept over the camp, but none of the clones surrounding it as much as flinched as a Dargyn buzzed over, followed by two more. None of them saw anything. None of them had any clue at all.

When it happened, it came as a complete surprise to the Grineer Trooper who came around the corner of one of their wagons and stepped directly into something he could not see. He did not even have time to recoil, let alone speak or cry a warning as a razor sharp blade tore the entire front from his neck. He was dead before arms that were oddly transparent caught him and hefted him into shadow and leaned him up as if he were inspecting the wagon closely. Such a deception would only last for moments before the security systems noted his life signs fading, but moments were all that was needed.

Before any of the other clones realized anything was amiss, the commander was slammed to the ground by a powerful blow and a hand that was barely visible appeared over him as he writhed. His scream of agony stilled the entire camp as energy poured from his body into the hand. The camp came alive with shouts and the ratcheting of weapons being readied, but then the hand vanished and when the Grineer ran to where the commander had been, there was nothing there.

The alarm was instantaneous and the Grineer did as they had always done, fanned out to seek the enemy. Once found, they would report the location and the area would swarm with Grineer until the enemy was destroyed. But there _was_ no enemy. No attacks. No tracks. No nothing. The Grineer went further and further into the wilds of the Plains. Some vanished completely, underground or attacked by predators. Others ran afoul of patrolling Tenno near the abomination that was Cetus. Try as they might, Grineer could not breach the walls of that village no matter how hard they tried. Even now, the pitiful remnants of Orokin technology far outmatched anything the clones had available on Earth and possibly in the entire solar system. Their biggest guns couldn't even scratch the walls and force fields. They had tried and failed miserably every time. Even a Fomorian's mighty main cannon had proven inadequate. They did not talk about that. At all.

Eventually, they would given up, clone another commander and try to build the camp again. For now? They would search until they died. Those were their orders and Grineer lived to obey orders.

Too bad for them they were searching in the wrong places.

* * *

Two hundred meters _below_ the Plains of Eidolon

The Grineer Commander woke up in pain. He screamed and thrashed fruitlessly in the transparent bonds that held him to the surface he lay on. He could barely see in the bright light that shone down on him. He was weaponless and his armor had vanished, but he was Grineer. He snarled at as shadow that moved nearby.

"Whoever you are, Grineer will rule. This changes nothing!"

There was no reply from the other and the Grineer snarled.

"Afraid to face our betters?" He demanded as the light grew to blinding intensity. He would _not_ shut his eyes! He would meet his fate with a snarl on his lips! He was Grineer!

He was answered, but the voice was odd. Sad and odd.

"You know no better." The voice did not come from the shadow. "The Orokin treated your kind very badly and your rage is completely understandable. We will show you a better way. One that does not require your death or worse."

"You will fall!" The Grineer shouted as the light faded for a moment. He felt odd. So very odd. "All of you… will..."

Why was he so weak suddenly? He fought the lethargy that surged through him, but whatever was happening, it was far beyond his ability to fight. His voice failed him and he could only stare as the light faded further and something that gleamed oddly appeared in his vision. It looked like it was made of glass and just seeing it? It was incredibly sharp.

He could not resist a whimper as the object moved to the side of his head. He felt a small pain on his scalp and then warmth flowed down into his eyes. A short, stabbing pain lanced through his head and then light blossomed _inside_ it. His scream of pain was inaudible, but someone heard it anyway.

 _Easy easy…_ The sad voice said quietly. _I am trying not to hurt you. I know Grineer are all about strength, but any strength has limits. Relax if you can. It won't be long and you will survive this Commander_ _Louiso_ _. You serve well and you will serve again._

 _I...serve..._ Those words came from the deepest recesses of the Grineer's mind. How did they know his name?

 _I know your name because I have been waiting for_ _a very specific_ _one of your kind for a long, long time._ _It took some doing planning to acquire you, but we managed._ The other sounded so sad and gentle. _Your queens gave up on the plains and only the arrival of the Ostrons pushed them to try and recover them._ _Cetus defies them simply by existing and they cannot have that. The Tenno thumbing their noses at the Grineer is bad enough, but_ _ **humans**_ _doing it_ _ **openly**_ _? They have to respond. They have to. None of which is your concern, my boy. None of that. Just rest. I have you. You are all right._

 _Who...are… you?_ Louiso begged as comfort eased through him, starting from where the pain had been in his head.

 _You may call me 'Mother'_

* * *

Later

He woke up quickly and for just a moment was stunned. Louiso felt good, better than he had in a long time. He stared down at himself, at where his prosthesis had been. His legs had been replaced when the flesh had given out and he had been proud of the spindly metal that had taken their place. Now? He felt awe as he saw flesh and blood legs under the grey gown he wore. He reached out with a trembling hand to touch them and they were real. He shook his head and then jerked. His eye! He touched his face and the eye that had been replaced by a prosthetic was flesh and blood again. He touched his head and felt odd things wrapped around it, but none of his armor or prosthesis. What was that under his fingers? Hair? Grineer had no hair!

Rage should have come. Someone had defiled him. Someone had removed his symbols of rank and his identity as Grineer with his armor. But it did not. His eyes went to his surroundings and he paused as he saw white and golden walls. Orokin? That didn't quite seem right. There were none of the ancient markings that he had been trained to recognize and report on discovery. Everything was clean and bright, but it all had a feeling of colossal age to every bit of it. He went still as a slot opened on a wall nearby and _his armor_ slid out of it!

The armor rested on a shelf of some kind that had extruded from the wall and he just stared at it.

"You will feel better in your armor." The voice of the other said quietly from nowhere that Louiso could see. "It has been revamped to fit your legs and allow you to use your eyes while still offering what protection it can. I would like to give you better protection, but it is for the best that you be able to blend in, at least for the moment."

"This… My body was failing." Louiso said slowly.

"It was." The other was still so gentle. "Now it is not."

"What do you want with me?" The Grineer demanded, not daring to move.

"Your help." The other was still quiet and sad. "You needed to wake so we could continue the programming. You will feel better in a moment."

"Grineer do not..." He gasped as he found himself falling back to the bed he lay on, his head was so heavy. "I..."

"Just relax, my boy." The other's voice was coming from nearby now, but his eyes were closing even as he fought with all of his strength to keep them open. "You are going to be okay. Just relax."

"What...are...you…?" Louiso tried to scream that, but it came out a croak as something enfolded his head. Something that shimmered as if transparent. Grey energy was coruscating around his head now but nothing hurt and he wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't afraid either. He felt nothing.

"You are being reborn. It will hurt and be scary, but Mistress is here, my boy. You are safe. Your Mistress is here."

Something that seemed liquid to his senses enveloped him. It felt hot for a moment, then it was simply warm and he felt arms take hold of him and lift him up. Then he was set on something that settled beneath him and warm fluid was seeping all around him. Whatever it was surrounded him, encasing him. Was the other cradling him? The energy was leaving his head and he could feel himself going with it. Whatever was surrounding him was soft and gentle as everything he was and knew was pulled from his head. His last thoughts before the warmth took him were of something very odd.

Something was dropping on his face and making a tinkling sound. Tears? They felt hot. Why was someone crying?

Then he knew no more.

Louiso roused from his sleep and nodded to his savior.

"Mother." The former Grineer said quietly as he rose to his feet. He assumed the proper form and bowed.

"Don't push yourself, Louiso." The other sad quietly. "We hurt you. I didn't want to, but we hurt you."

"I resisted." The former Grineer said quietly, staring down at his arm, encased as it was in the transparent material. It felt right. Why did he feel it was wrong to be encased in glass? He was secure and protected. Needed. This was what he _was_.

"It is what your kind do." The other said sadly. She was not encased in glass, she seemed to be nothing _but_ glass. He could see right through her body. When he touched her arm, the substance was warm and soft to his fingers. She smiled at him and he felt his heart swell. "Neither of us wanted to hurt you. We hoped to simply ask your help."

"I wouldn't have accepted that." Louiso said sadly as he explored his body with careful fingers. The surface felt like glass, but warm and soft like flesh as well, as odd as that seemed. "I would have fought. Probably hurt you. Maybe killed you." Shame sounded in his voice and the other hugged him gently.

"You did fight, Louiso." The other said gently as she held him. "You did. There is no dishonor in losing to a more powerful opponent. There was no way you could have won and we did what we could to ease your transition."

"Did you get what you needed from me, Mother?" Louiso asked carefully as she set him on his feet. The floor felt odd through the substance that coated him, but it felt right too.

"Yes." The other nodded as Louiso relaxed a little. "We are going to use what you knew to build a better future and you were the key. Grineer are not living up to their potential as slaves to the Queens. We plan to change that."

"It is all they know." Louiso said sadly. "All they can imagine." A hand cupped his cheek and he smiled at his mother as she shook her head.

"Grineer are fallible, mortal and flawed." The other said gently. "But we can show some of them a better way. It will not be easy. It will not be quick, but we can."

"All that Grineer know from the moment they are decanted until the moment they perish is pain, fear and rage." Louiso protested. "What you did for me is wonderful, but it was incredibly dangerous."

"What is life without a little risk?" The other had a smile in her voice as Louiso sputtered. "We did what we could. It will not be easy. We knew that and know that. But now? You have a choice. There is something that we have to do, but we need more family members before we attempt it. No matter what, it will be incredibly dangerous. I do not want to lose you."

She was crying softly again as Louiso hugged her.

"I do not understand." Louiso said after a moment. "If you give a command, I will obey. That has not changed from who I was."

"Unfortunately, that was built into your DNA at a level that no one living would be able to undo." The other replied with a snarl that he knew was not directed at him. "The Orokin wanted a race of things that would do all the hard and dirty jobs, leaving them to pursue their whims. What they forgot -if they ever _knew_ \- was that humans have an inbred hatred for slave collars and like it or not, your DNA came from humans."

"If you said that to a Grineer, they would try to kill you." Louiso warned. He paused and made a face. "I am not Grineer now. Am I?"

"You can be whatever you want to be." The other was still so gentle. "If you cannot do what we need or do not wish to take the risks, then we will find another. There are many jobs that you can do, jobs that do not require you to put yourself in danger. The Orokin never asked, they ordered. I am not Orokin."

"What are you?" Louiso asked, curious despite himself.

"I too was _made_. I too know what it is to be a _thing_." The woman made of glass said sadly. He hugged her again and he hugged her back. "I won't do that to another sentient being. Not now, not ever. There is another here, the one who freed me from my own bondage." Louiso stared around, but there was no one there. "She helped me free you from the Queen's domination, but she knew her appearance would frighten you at best, send you into a rage at worst. She wants to meet you, but your well being is my concern now. I freed you, I have responsibility for you until you can stand on your own. The shocks in your psyche will take a while to settle. I am here to help."

"But..." Louiso paused and then grimaced. "She was the Tenno who captured me, wasn't she?" The other would not meet his eyes and he shook his head. "Mother."

"We hurt you." The other was crying again. "We tried not to, but we did. My boy. Oh, my boy." She hugged him tight enough to hurt. "I am sorry." He just held her as she cried.

"What could possibly motivate a Tenno and you to take such a risk?" Louiso asked as she held the crying woman made of glass.

"There is a threat to everything." A new female voice sounded as Louiso went still as one wall slid aside and a form straight out of nightmare stepped into the room. But to his eyes, the warframe with it's shimmering trails of glass looked beautiful. The Tenno's steps were hesitant. "And it is a threat that Tenno are forbidden to act against."

"What?" Louiso demanded, stunned beyond measure. "Who would dare command Tenno? The Lotus?"

"No." The other shook her head. "The Lotus and her allies are powerful, but they have all been deceived. We know the truth and we have to act, but we need your help to neutralize this threat."

"I do not understand." If anything, Louiso was even more confused. "You are Tenno, no?" The warframe nodded. "Why can you not act?"

"I too am constrained." The glass warframe shook her head. "But you will not be. You and Ali here can act in ways that I cannot for all my power."

"If I can and no one else will, then I must." Louiso said quietly, hugging the still crying glass woman. "What is the threat?"

"They are called 'Caretakers'."


	2. Chapter 2

**Colonial**

"This is not what I expected."

Anne was more than a bit flabbergasted by the locale that she had finally swung permission to visit. Her partner, her compatriots, her friends all had been equivocal against her going on this outing, but she had been going nuts sitting all day. She had always been an active person for all of her life that she could remember. She couldn't remember all of it for several reasons, but in everything she could remember, she had always been active. Sitting all day was not her thing and it had finally gotten to be too much.

Anne loved her mate. She loved her child. She loved her dear friends and adopted family even if they _did_ drive her absolutely crazy at times. But at her core, she was not a sedentary person. She could not sit and do _nothing_. Unfortunately, they didn't have any jobs that met her skill sets, so that was all she had been doing for a while and it had been driving her crazy.

"The decorations are beautiful." The woman beside her wasn't one. More than a few people gave the warframe a second glance, but no one was going to say anything. Not here. Not now. Trinity Prime warframes were not that common at any time, but the being who inhabited it was even rarer. Kollette was one of the First, one of the Tenno who had lived in the Citadel and severed all connection to the Orokin after a series of unfortunate incidents. Some might say that Trinity warframes were less powerful than other warframes and in some ways that was true, but _no one_ was ever going to take Kollette lightly. _Especially_ not with the Braton Prime rifle she held in her hands. She had special dispensation to carry it here and now. Her tone, however, was kind. "See anything you like?'

"Yeah." Anne stepped to a stall that held a number of ornate rugs and eyed one from close at hand. The shopkeeper eyed her warily and eyed Kollette just as warily, but then smiled as Anne did. "These are beautiful. Hand woven?"

"Yes, honored guest." The shopkeeper smiled wider. "Hand woven from thread that was recovered from the tower." He waved at the massive Orokin structure that loomed behind the colony.

"I didn't think that was possible." Anne mused as she held out a hand to the rug and paused, looking at the shopkeeper who nodded permission with another smile. "I mean, I thought that every decoration in a tower was holographic. Can't get thread from _that_." The shopkeeper eyed her and Anna frowned. "I mean… I..."

She stammered, looking for a rational explanation for something that was utterly insane. There was really no sane way to explain her past. ((Not really. See Enemies s/10635718/1/Warframe-Enemies)) Luckily, she didn't have to.

"Wait." The shopkeeper stiffened. "You are the pilot? The one from the past?"

"Heard about that, I see. One of them. I _was_ a pilot." Anne said sadly. "No longer. And before? I lived in a mining colony, not a tower. Nothing like this." She looked at the sky and smiled as the warmth of the sun beat down on her face. "I like it here."

"So do we." The shopkeeper smiled a bit more naturally this time. "To answer your question, most Orokin decorations were holographic but they always did have some physical hangings and floor coverings. Such were fairly easy to recover, but take a great deal of time to dismantle, since their sizes are rarely convenient and like all Orokin material..." He broke off as Anne chuckled.

"Way too tough for its own good." Anne said with a smirk and the man nodded. "Still, biotech thread." She ran a hand across the rug and recoiled as something stung her. She exclaimed and then shook her head as Kollette stepped close. The human stared at her hand, but nothing was out of the ordinary. No blood or injury of any kind shone. "Something stung me. Something in the rug?"

"Nothing I can scan." Kollette said sharply, her eyes on the shopkeeper who looked ashen. He ran his own hands across the rug and nothing happened.

"Are you injured, milady?" The shopkeeper was all but begging.

"No." Anne sighed as Kollette held out a hand. She reluctantly let the Tenno take her hand and examine it. "Please, Kollette. This is the _first_ time I have been outdoors since I woke up in this time! Please don't take me back for _this!_ "

"I should." Kollette sighed heavily. "But we all know you are chafing."

"I was active my entire life." Anne said when the shopkeeper looked blank. "Now, suddenly, I have to sit. At least they put my mind back together." She sighed and shook her head. "Do what you have to, Kollette."

"We _know_ you are chafing." Kollette repeated quietly. "We know you have suddenly woken up in a completely new life. Even your son can't pull you out of your funk completely despite his best efforts."

"Mikey is a good kid." Anne smiled a little but slumped. "I want to stay, but I do know the rules. Anything odd happens, I run back, tail between my legs."

"Anne, you are not hurt." Kollette said with a frown in her tone. "We do worry. All of us. You are far more fragile than we are. Part of me wants to wrap you in bandages, keep you safe from all harm, but that won't work. All it will do is make you hate us if we confine you." Anne would not meet the warframe's faceplate with her eyes. "I will report this, but we have a tour to finish."

Anne's eyes went huge with gratitude as the shopkeeper smiled widely. Then he went still.

"Anne J-45." A synthesized voice sounded from behind her. She did not turn from the rug she was scrutinizing. She knew who it was. Well, not _who_ , but _what_ he was. "You are a long way from home."

"I go by 'Anne' now. This is not your territory." Anne said, not bothering to look at the Corpus goon. She had seen him talking to another of the citizens of Cetus and had hoped to pass by unnoticed. Silly that with a Tenno shadowing her.. "Despite your best efforts, I managed to recover from what you people did to me." The word 'people' was heavily sarcastic.

"You have a right to your anger." The other surprised her by saying. "Not all Corpus are ruled by their hormones like the one who hurt you."

Anne dared a glance, but the Corpus crewman was eyeing Kolette who stood, impassive. The barrel of her rifle did not waver from her aim point, his head. He nodded to Anne slowly. He slowly bent down and laid a pad on the ground before rising and striding away.

"What the hell?" Anne asked, bewildered. She looked at the shopkeeper, but he looked just as baffled. Kollette stepped forward, scanning the pad from close range. The Tenno picked it up and turned it over, examining it closely. Anne waited for a moment before speaking. "Well?"

"No tricks, no taps, no nothing." Kollette said after a moment. "But it is keyed, probably to your DNA. I know the Corpus had access to that."

"That and a lot more." Anne shivered a little despite the bright warm sunshine. She sighed and held out a hand. "Might as well find out what all the fuss is about. Rachel is not going to be happy."

"You think?" Kollette had a smirk in her voice as she handed the pad to Anne. "No one can touch you once we get back, but until then… I am putting the reaction team on standby. Just in case."

"Reaction team?" Anne demanded. Then she slumped. "Damn, I should have know. I wanted a simple day, Kollette. Just one day." When she touched the pad, she went still as it glowed softly golden. "This isn't a Corpus pad..."

"Anne!" Kollette reached for it, but Anne held it tight.

"This is Imperial Navy issue." Anne said weakly. "Like what I had in my… No." She inhaled as she stared at it. A small line of number were inscribed on that side and she inhaled again. "This is _mine._ "

"Anne!" Kollette reached for the pad, but Anne shook her head. She backed away from the stall, Kollette following.

"This was attached to my flightsuit when I went into stasis." Anne said softly. "See the numbers? That was my naval ID. No one knows that. Not even the Corpus. I checked the records they had on me and my past is gone. Or so I thought. Now… This."

"The Clergy would know that." Kollette said quietly, still eyeing the pad as if it were venomous. "You know how deep they went into your mind."

"Yeah." Anne shivered again. "Not that it helped. Only Healer could reach me and it took a great deal of effort."

"So why would the Clergy send a message like this?" Kollette demanded. "This is more than bit convoluted even for them."

" _They_ wouldn't." Anne mused as she stared at the pad. It as all that was left of her past as far as she knew. She took a chance and keyed the pad live despite Kollette's warning hiss. Then she was reading the old style text that scrawled across it.

'Anne,

It took some doing, but I found this in the Corpus archives. They could not access it and stored it as a relic.' The unknown writer had written. 'It belongs to you. I hope it beings fair memories instead of foul. Do not return to the Citadel. You and Kollette are in grave danger. Cetus is not safe. Not now. They will attack you and they will not care who they kill if they kill you.'

"Why?" Anne breathed." What have _I_ done?"

'It is not anything you have done.' The writer consoled her. 'You played the hand you were dealt. You were never our enemy, Anne. You were hurt and sick and we tried to help. We couldn't so it was for the best that Mitchell and the cat took you from us. We failed, but you survived and came out okay in the end. I am glad of that. I am mobilizing what forces I can, but my assets in that area are limited. You must not return to the Citadel.'

"Anne..." Kollette warned softly as Anne shook her head.

"You have been injected with an Orokin design nanobot tracker and homing device, Anne." The other wrote. 'It was planted there minutes before you arrived at the stall. No one from Cetus is involved in any way I can determine. I am not sure how, but I do know that that device will allow an assault force past the Citadel's impressive defenses. All evidence points towards an attack on the Caretakers. Probably by a Tenno. I am mobilizing what forces I can, but I have to be careful. Nikis will not react well to this and the last thing I want is a bloodbath. Especially there. I am watching.'

It was signed 'Janet'

"The Oracle… Wait. Oh no." Anne breathed, staring at her hand. Kollette was reading over her shoulder now and she could feel the Tenno's tension even as she cast out with her mind along the odd mental path that all of the Caretakers shared with their human allies. _JASMINA!_

 _Anne?_ The eldest Tenno Caretaker of the Unclean asked quickly. _Is something wrong?_

 _I just got a message from Oracle Janet!_ Anne said quickly. _She says I have been tagged with a tracker that might let an assault force into the Citadel. She thinks it is aimed at us._ _The Caretakers._

 _Who the HELL would_ **dare** _?_ Jasmina snapped. _Rachel and company are bad enough news, but Nikis is… oh wait. He is still reading._ A heavy sigh came from the other. _I better tell Rachel. If you have been tagged, we can handle it._

 _Janet said it was an Orokin design._ Anne said slowly. _Who would have such?_

 _Tenno._ Jasmina's reply was flat. _They have attacked us before, but… If they dare to cross the wards of the Citadel, they are going to die. Rachel has no patience for some things. Others have tried, it never ends well._

 _Is that why she wants to to stay out?_ Anne said into the silence on her head. _If open conflict between the First and the others sparks… No one wins._

 _We don't want a schism any more than Rachel does._ Jasmina reassured the human. _Are you sure the warning is from Janet?_

 _The message_ _came on an artifact that I had on my suit when the Corpus salvage teams found me._ Anne reread the message quickly and then shook her head. _She also speaks of things that happened on the transport. She was there when Mitchell came for me. You should confirm it if you can, but I bet it was from her. What I remember of her, she was nice._

 _Only when people do not make her angry._ Jasmina's rejoinder was dry. _And don't say it. I know I am the same way._

 _We love you anyway, Jasmina._ Anne said warmly and she treasured the feeling for comfort that came form the other. Then she wilted a little. _I am scared. Some big tough soldier, huh?_

 _This is way outside your experience._ Jasmina replied. _Fear is completely understandable. I am looking into options. Oh dear, Kollette must have just reported to Rachel. She just stormed in and boy, is she pissed._

Jasmina sounded wary and Anne understood completely. Rachel was an incredibly smart and compassionate being. She was old enough to remember Orokin at its prime. Before the Old War. Before the Collapse. She had not survived so long by being 'nice'. While any Tenno was dangerous? The First took that to a whole other level. Anne had heard about members of the group fighting entire enemy armies and Anne believed it.

 _They offered us a haven._ Anne said firmly. _I will not betray them. What can I do?_

 _You cannot stay past dark. That was the agreement._ Jasmina said flatly. _That said, you cannot come back or go into a secure facility until we can clear you. Damn!_ _Mitchell and Nightnova are all the way across the system running silent. If I com them, that will blow their op._ _All the Cyberlancers are occupied._ _Olim and Quais are dealing with a Sentient virus incursion across multiple locales and Jesse…_

 _Is_ **not** _leaving her haven._ Anne said with a grunt. _That girl has more guts than sense. And having Draco here would not end well for any number of reasons. Jasmina, I am going to say this and you will disagree. But I have to say it. I am_ **one** _being. One_ **human** _._

 _Anne…_ Jasmina warned.

 _If you have to sacrifice me, you will._ Anne said in a tone of iron. There was utter silence over the link. _Mikey won't lack for love or protection and there are a hundred human lives counting on you, Janas and Elenia for protection. One life for a hundred, Jasmina, not even counting the others. Do the math._

 _Don't talk to me about numbers, Anne._ Jasmina sounded nearly in tears. _If I had paid any attention to numbers, I would have gone mad a long time ago._

"Excuse me..."

Anne was jolted out of her mental communication by a soft voice. She jerked and stared at the female Ostron who stood nearby, eyeing both Anne and Kollette. This was Saya, the headman's mate. Or something. Anne had been introduced.

"Is there a problem?" Saya asked. Anne realized that the whole market had suddenly gone still. Kollette had her rifle out and ready, but no one moved.

"Yes." Anne sent the speech and what she had heard to Jasmina who was listening intently. "I just found out I cannot go home. We are looking into options."

"What?" Saya demanded. "Why?" She paused, looking at Kollette who hadn't moved. "Is is this something I cannot or do not want to know?"

"A report from an ally has stated that Anne was infected with an ancient design tracking device when she touched the rug over there." Kollette nodded to the stall whose keeper looked as if he would faint. "Not his fault, or yours. We will not compromise your neutrality."

"If you are being tracked..." For all of her lack of formal education, Saya was a _very_ bright woman. "You cannot go back to where you came from or others can find it." Anne nodded. Her next words were completely unexpected. "Then you will stay here."

"What?" Anne stammered, feeling matching shock from Jasmina. "No! I cannot do that. You are neutral!"

"Are we?" Saya asked as she stepped closer to Anne. Kollette nodded other and her gaze swept the market whose hubbub started again, a bit less loud. "You are human. That was the argument that your friends made to let you visit. The Tenno and the Lotus have been very good to us, and we do understand the monumental debt that we owe them for their continued defense. This colony makes a very big target even with the ancient shields. If the Eidolon were to breach those..." She shuddered a little.

Anne felt a shiver as well. She had never seen an Eidolon in person. Few humans had and survived, but she had seen images.

"I um..." Anne swallowed hard. "Kollette?"

"Rachel just commanded me not to leave your side." Kollette said with a nod. "But… She also told me to 'play nice'." She slung her rifle for the first time since the pair had arrived.

"No one will push you." Saya promised."Although you may have to wade through a throng of starry eyed kids."

"Shoot me now." Kollette muttered sotto voice, but the other two women laughed. Saya took Anne's hand and pulled her towards a path.

"Come. Let's talk to Konzu. He may take while to understand this, but his heart is usually in the right place."

"In his chest instead of lower?" Anne quipped and Saya grinned.

"Most of the time." Saya chuckled as Anne did. "He _is_ a man after all."

No one saw the shadow against the ancient Orokin stone tower that made up part of the colony. No one had seen it appear. No one saw it go. No one heard the sigh from it.

 _No one said fighting such evils was going to be easy or without costs to innocents. Poor woman. We will free you from your slavery, Anne. I swear it._

Then the form vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hunters and prey**

It was a beautiful day.

The world called Earth was pretty much considered a lost cause by most people. Between the horrific slaughter that had occurred during the Old War, the desolation left by the masses of Infested released by the Orokin, the collapse of said Orokin's entire civilization and now the depredations of the Grineer, the once vibrant home of humanity was a shadow of its former self. Humanity had fled the collapse of the Orokin civilization, taking refuge amongst the myriad colonies and planetoids that were scattered across the solar system. Almost every part of Earth had been surrendered to the dead and dying. But if there was _one_ absolute truth in life, it was change.

The world would have been unrecognizable to any humans from before the Collapse. Most of the landmarks were gone, most of the structures were gone, minus a few dead and slowly decaying Orokin towers. But even here, even now, life was starting to come back.

Atop a mountain that in the old days would have been called 'moderately high', a small animal hopped across the landscape and paused, its eyes and ears twitching as it sought predators or other threats with its limited sense. The Kuaka sensed nothing, but there was something wrong and it had not lived as long as it had by ignoring its instincts. It changed its path and loped away from the pile of brush that had been its destination.

"Is there no end to those things?" A quiet female voice sounded from nowhere. "Furry things give me the creeps."

"This is Earth, Jill." A male voice replied, sounding amused. "Cradle of humanity, remember? Life bearing? Things are going to grow and evolve. Even creepy little furry things."

"Yeah, yeah." Jill sighed deeply. "I just… I don't get this whole place. I have fought a lot of different places, but nothing like this. By the time my memories start, this world was a memory. There are lots of places that have wildlife, but not like this."

"Yeah, mine too." The male said quietly. Something shifted a little and the 'pile of brush' resolved into two warframes lying prone on the ground. Both held long, slender weapons in hand and both were looking down from their mountain perch. "Gotta admit though, this is a dream for people like us."

"Yeah, Aeron, I guess I do." Jill mused as she stared down the mountain.

Cetus colony's massive gates stood in the distance, easily visible even from their perch five kilometers away from them. The shields that protected said gates drew the eye and even Tenno were not immune to awe. Even now, after all this time, the ancient Orokin defenses still held strong. From their perch, both Tenno had an unobstructed view of the Plains of Eidolon for a good six kilometers in almost every direction from the gates.

"Movement." Aeron said quietly and the barrel of his Snipetron twisted a little as he sighted through the scope. Jill did the same with her Rubico.

"Weird movement." Jill said softly, her tone confused. Aeron did not reply.

Grineer were fairly predictable in a number of ways. They had essentially unlimited manpower. Er, clonepower. So they used what they had. They swamped any area that proved troublesome with more and more clones with guns until either the situation as resolved or the entire area was destroyed. They couldn't touch Cetus due to the Orokin shields and that irritated the clones to no end. They continually sent up more and camps to support offensive operations against Cetus on the plains, but they had problems. The Ostrons had proven to be both tenacious and smart. The humans' ingenuity in re-purposing derelict Orokin tech was incredible to say the least.

Then they had asked the _Lotus_ for help.

Tenno were, by and large, individuals. They had good ones and bad ones They had calm ones and angry ones. They had all kinds. But when the Lotus had found out about the Ostron's decision to try and recover anything from the Orokin structure that their colony had settled in the shade of? Tenno had flocked to their aid. Not all Tenno revered the Lotus, but almost all Tenno remembered the core precept of the Tenno Code.

'Tenno exist to protect humanity when it cannot protect itself.'

The First Tenno and his descendants had sworn to fight the Technocyte virus and its outbreaks, but the reason they had done so? They had remembered being human. They did not always agree with humans. Indeed, most Tenno found humans to be slow and more than a bit stupid. That did not change the fact that they were sworn to defend humanity. What few knew was that the _reason_ Orokin had collapsed had been humanity trying to abuse that defense. Not all Tenno liked human. Indeed, there were a few Tenno who _detested_ humans. But if it came down to it as it had in the past? As a whole, Tenno bled and died to protect humans. It was what they did. What they were for. Of course, when humans _attacked_ them, such as Corpus were wont to do? All bets were off.

But there one thing on the plains that gave even warrior gods of antiquity pause. The _same_ thing that kept the Grineer at bay. The same thing that had wrought so much havoc during the Old War and had been stopped, albeit with a grievous cost of life. Sentient fighters were not alive in the traditional sense, so killing one was almost as hard as killing a Tenno. That is to say, next to impossible. The Eidolon that gave the plains its name rose every night. It wasn't the horror that it had been during the Old War. It was a fragment of its former self. It didn't _matter_. Regular Sentient fighters were bad enough, able to adapt to any attacks directed at them and utterly without fear or other emotion. _This one_ was over _ten_ _times_ that size with _well_ over ten times the power. Tenno strike teams regularly disabled it, but could not destroy it. It always came back. Grineer had _no_ chance against it and even the clones had realized fighting it was a waste of time and ammo.

So what the hell were they doing?

"Are they fishing?" Jill asked, staring through her sniper scope at the line of twelve Grineer that had crowded by the shore of a lake. Indeed, they looked if they were using nets and fishing poles instead of the spears that the Ostruns preferred. She checked their surrounding out of habit, but nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Either that or they are suicidal." Aeron replied, not taking his eyes off the scope. "It will start getting dark in less than an hour. We will see Sentient Vomvalysts in forty minutes or so when twilight hits."

"And we stay out." Jill's words were not a question.

They had been detailed to cover the area while Anne was on her 'excursion. They would stay on post until Anne was safe or they had to move. Jill needed some light duty for awhile after her adventures and acting as spotter for Aeron qualified. She had argued, but facing the intransigence of the entire clan, she had finally given in. She _had_ nearly died and she knew it.

"Anne cannot go back to the Citadel. We cannot take her anywhere secure until we can undo what was done. Olim can detect it, but he says he cannot remove it without harming her." Aeron growled. "Whoever did that to her has made a serious mistake. When Nikis wakes up, there is gonna be hell to pay."

"No joke." Jill sighed as the Grineer line broke up, some carrying fish and others moving towards… "What the? Did you see that?"

"They all moved into a tunnel that closed up after them and now the landscape looks untouched." Aeron agreed. "Oh crap. If Grineer have built a base _under_ the plains…" He trailed off. "No, the shield goes down twenty kilometers. No way they could dig into Cetus without being detected."

"Why would the Grineer build underground?" Jill asked. "That is not their way."

"Our orders are to keep watch." Aeron said with a minute shrug. "And no, that means no adventures, Jill."

"I could be in and out before they even know I am there." The Ivara clad Tenno said reasonably. Aeron just looked at her and she slumped a bit. "Yes. I know."

"We need to keep eyes on." Aeron said softly. "And you _know_ what Iriana would do to me if I let you get hurt again so soon after you were released into the field. I will call it in. Just keep an eye out." He opened his mind to call the Lotus and recoiled as static erupted across his mental link. "Jammed! Jill! _Run_!"

The Ivara ran towards a cliff edge as the air around the pair started to coalesce into something else. Aeron was on his feet, his Kraken pistol in hand as he sought targets. There was nothing. He dropped a Decoy and blurred into invisibility even as something that looked for all the world like _glass_ hardened around him. Jill was frozen in mid-step by the glass as well.

"Neither of you will be harmed." A quiet voice sounded from nearby as a shadow stepped from a tree into view. The female shaped warframe carried an oddly shaped shotgun. "We want no schism in Tenno ranks."

"Because Nikis will _kill_ anyone who is _dumb_ enough to do that." Jill grated out and shrieked in pain.

"Do not struggle, sister Jill. If you do not struggle, there will be no pain. The glass will not harm you permanently either way." The Gara warframe clad Tenno begged as she stepped toward Jill. "You have suffered greatly. We heard of your ordeal. You will rest and wake unharmed."

"And we should just _trust_." Aeron grated out, his own voice grating as the glass tore his warframe. "Glass. Just like the thing that cut Anne and let the nanobots into her body."

It had taken over an hour of scanning by the Grandmaster of Cyberlancers himself to find the problem and even he was stymied about solving it. Orokin tech blurred the line between organic and technological. The nanobot tracker was one such marvel. That kind of things was designed to be almost impossible to find and utterly impossible to stop. Even now, it was replicating through Anne's body. It wasn't going to kill her, but it was not going to be fun either.

"Stop talking, brother Aeron." The other stepped close, small slivers of transparent material appearing in her hands. "You are hurting yourself. I will not kill you. I will do my best not to harm you."

"And how many _humans_ will you kill _?_ " Aeron demanded.

"None if I can help it." The Gara clad Tenno said firmly. "I have no quarrel with your clan. We are not enemies, brother Aeron. You have been misled. You have _all_ been misled. I will show you the truth." Jill gave a cry as the mobile Tenno shoved the thing her hand into the Loki warframe's neck, but then it shimmered and vanished! _A_ _nother_ Decoy! "What? No!"

"Did you _really_ think it was going to be that easy?" Aeron's snide voice came from the tree the Gara had hidden under and his form shimmered into being as he vaulted down, somersaulting in midair to land on his feet, his Fang Prime daggers coming to his hands. He held them in a guard posture as the Gara recoiled, her shotgun coming to her hands. "You are not fighting a _human_ now, you stupid excuse for a Tenno."

"I will not fight you." The Gara said quietly as she ran to the cliff edge but then paused. "Sister Jill, the glass will wear off in about ten minutes. Please do not struggle or you may cause yourself harm."

With that, she leaped from the cliff. Aeron had his sniper rifle in hand as an Itzal Arcwing holding the Gara warframe swooped up and vanished in midair before he could fire. He swore and moved to Jill's side, touching the warframe to allow direct mental communication.

 _Sister?_ He begged in his mind.

 _Hurts like hell, but I am okay._ Jill replied the same way. _Tried calling out. Couldn't get through. You?_

Aeron tried again to contact the Lotus and was not surprised when he couldn't. _Nothing._

 _What the hell is she doing?_ Jill demanded in her mind. _Nikis will kill her and everyone_ **around** _her if she endangers little Dustin._ Grandmaster Nikis took the words 'overprotective grandfather' to a whole new level.

 _She is good._ Aeron mused. _She has to have a plan of some kind. But yeah. What she is doing either is fairly dumb or some_ _incredibly_ _deep plan. The whole clan is going to be upset about this. Almost as upset as if we had just vanished._

 _How did you Switch Teleport while glassed?_ Jill asked after a moment. _I couldn't even Prowl._

 _I switched with a small furry thing like the one that bothered you as soon as I realized we were jammed._ Aeron bent down and touched a small, still form at this feet. He sighed. _The glass killed it._ _It was in the tree and I switched as soon as I knew we were under attack. Instinct._

 _Nice instinct._ Jill replied. _I shudder to think what she would have done to us if she is willing to cross_ **Nikis** _._

 _Whoever she is, I don't know her. I didn't get an ID. Did you?_ Aeron asked.

 _No_ _If she can jam mental transmissions, then she can likely jam IDs._ Jill said slowly in her mind. _But Tenno don't do that kind of thing. The only people who did…_

 _I know._ Aeron sighed.

 _Orokin._

* * *

Far below the plains

"Are you all right?" Luioso asked as his friend staggered into the facility. He helped her sit and she nodded.

"I ran into half a dozen Vomvalysts at the alternate entrance." The female Tenno said weakly as she sat and fought to regain her energy. "I disabled their physical forms, but their energy forms blew my Itzal right out of the air. Did you get enough fish?"

"Esther!" Ari bustled in, her glass face working as she took in her friend's state. "What did those Tenno do to you?"

"I am all right. Sentients. Not the Tenno." The Gara warframe nodded as the glass woman knelt beside her. "I am all right. I couldn't hurt them after I destroyed their physical bodies. I fled, drew them away. It hurts, but I am all right."

"You need time and rest." Ari said with a nod. "Come. The crew has enough food to replicate rations for a few years. Hopefully far more than we will need. Can you walk?"

"Will we need to fight?" Luioso asked as he took hold of Esther and Ari did as well.

"I..." Esther rose and nearly fell, but Luioso and Ari both helped her stand. "Fighting the Tenno won't work. Especially not Karl's Shadow. _Those_ are scary even for Tenno. We only have fifteen counting you, me and Ari. We cannot fight."

"But we have to stop the Caretakers." Ari pleaded.

"Fighting won't work." Esther said sadly as they led her into another room. This one held a huge bath that was filled with steaming liquid that was not water. She was gasping as the other led her into the pool and laid her in it. She sank slowly, her faceplate the last thing above the fluid. Her words bubbled up as they faded. "Don't do anything until I wake."

Then the Gara warframe sank into the depths.

"We cannot just sit here, Milady." The glass coated Grineer said slowly as the mismatched pair stared at the pool.

"We cannot fight Tenno as you well know." Ari said sadly. "Esther was our best chance to get a foothold, but if she failed, then they are warned. Attacking Tenno doesn't work and if we attack blindly, at best we die. At _worst_? Grandmaster Nikis catches us."

"I do not know that name." Luioso said slowly. "Esther and you have both spoken of him. If both you and she fear him..." He nodded to the pool. "Then I will take that under advisement."

"Everything that lives fears death." Ari said quietly. "Even the Orokin at the height of their power paused at the thought of irritating the Grandmaster of the Dead. I met him once, long, long ago. I was a young and foolish slave. He was _horror_. He left me alive. My master and the rest of my master's household were not so lucky."

"So, we cannot fight and we cannot explain and we cannot hide." Luioso shook his head. "There has to be a way. After all this, I cannot accept that there is no way to stop the Caretakers before they corrupt the Tenno."

"I don't know what to do." Ari admitted. "I was a foolish slave, but I knew my place. If Orokin still existed, I would know who to go to, who to give the information to for it to be acted on. But it doesn't."

"And if it did?" A new voice had both of them spinning. An oddly garbed human stood there, her robes pure white and her face half concealed by a veil.

Luioso acted on instinct, raising his rifle, but Ari threw out a hand and blocked it. He looked at her and she shook her head.

"There is no change in air pressure. She is not really here." Ari said slowly. "That is a projection."

"Well reasoned, Ari." The human nodded to Ari who shook her head. "Yes, I know your name. You may call me Oracle."

" _Oracle_?" Luioso demanded, but Ari recoiled. "Ari?"

"The word 'Oracle' was used in Orokin for one who had the power of precognition." Ari said slowly. Oracle nodded to her. "You know what is going to happen?"

"I know everything that _could_ happen." Oracle replied, her visible face split in a slightly sick grin.

"That doesn't mean I know what _will_ happen."


	4. Chapter 4

**Alternate paths**

"We have to do something!"

The human doctor's impassioned words cut through the silence that had enveloped the briefing room like a knife. No one would meet here eyes and finally the clan warlord spoke.

"Tenno do not fight Tenno." Tiana said heavily. "This strange Tenno in the Gara warframe is not in any records that anyone can find. She went out of her way not to hurt Aeron and Jill too badly. She ambushed our clan mates and tried to disable them, but she did not harm them permanently."

Brianna glared at the warlord, but then she slumped as Jill laid a hand on her arm. Jill wore robes instead of her warframe, but she looked none the worse for wear.

"Brianna, I know you like Anne." Jill said quietly when no one else spoke. "But we cannot precipitate a clan war. There is too much at stake."

"I know." Brianna said weakly. "We tried to hard to heal her and couldn't. After the Caretakers did, she was so curious. She was… She was like me. Cast out of her own time. She had Mitchell so things were better, but she was still lost and adrift. I talked with her and it did us both good. We bonded. I knew she couldn't stay and so did she. She is a good person. Using her like this to attack her friends is evil."

"None of us are arguing with that." Tina said with a shake of her head. "We all know that the Caretakers make lots of people very nervous. We know that many Tenno consider them an offshoot of the Technocyte virus."

"Technically, they are." Brianna nodded, manifestly against their will. "I had always thought Tenno were better than humans. I thought 'Give them the facts and they will make a rational decision.' I just..."

"I know." Tiana moved to Brianna's side as Healer Iriana did the same. "The Caretakers and what they ward are marvels that we want to protect if we can. But we cannot act blindly. If we do, we risk the fate of the Rising."

A growl swept the room at the mention of the renegade group that had killed their former clan leader. He wasn't completely gone due to a number of oddities, but he was no longer the same Tenno who had united them. None would forget Karl, but he was doing his own thing now.

"There has to be _something_ we can do." Brianna begged, looking at Olim.

"Brianna, you saw my scans." The Grandmaster of Cyberlancers seemed calm, but everyone knew it was a facade. He too was angry. "Even at maximum resolution, I can barely detect them. I cannot access them. The nanobots won't kill her."

"But she cannot return to her mate and son!" Brianna exclaimed. No one would meet her eyes again and she snarled. "There has to be a way!"

"Brianna." Another voice spoke up and everyone turned to the golden Saryn warframe that stood by one wall. Diana was very quiet in almost every situation. Her trainee Janna stood beside her, the youngest Tenno's face pale under the hood of her robes. Then again, she _had_ just been punished for a spectacular series of messes she had unwittingly caused in the small kitchen that served the humans residing in the dojo. There was a reason most of the food preparation was automated. Her trying to override controls to make a 'home cooked meal' had resulted in numerous fire alarms and more than one slick floor. No one had been amused, least of all Janna when Diana had punished her. The assassin had all kinds of nasty ideas for such things. None dangerous, none debilitating. All messy.

"I know what Orokin tech could do, I _saw_ it." Brianna said sharply and then winced. "Sorry, sorry. I am stressed." She apologized to Diana who waved the apology away.

"We are all stressed, Brianna." Diana said by way of acceptance. "I agree that something needs to be done, but what? We do not have an ID on the one who tried to disable Aeron and Jill. We have no target. We cannot act until and unless we do. Anne is not suffering, is she?" Brianna shook her head.

"Every check shows no ill effects." Brianna slumped and nodded. "This makes no sense. I can see her being used as a Trojan Horse of some kind. Most people like her when she is not playing the part of the asshole pilot."

"That was her life." Tiana shrugged. "Now? I agree, we have to do something. So… Brianna, I know you feel safe here. Would you be okay to travel to Cetus? To stay with Anne?"

"I..." Brianna clenched her neck where once a bomb had resided. It had been removed several months past. "Warlord, I can't leave!"

"Brianna." Healer Iriana's face was calm, but her eyes were bleak. "Who else can go? I can't. Grina certainly cannot."

"The clan is deploying to the Plains for the near future." Tiana said quietly. "Most of the rest of the system can be handled by other clans. Olim and Quais will be on call. The rest of us are going to clean the Grineer off the plains as much as we can. It won't last, but we have to do what we can. Both for Cetus and for Anne."

"Grina?" Brianna licked her lips in worry.

"I am going to stay when I am not on missions. Janna is going to stay with Diana as her trainer unless we need Diana's skills." Tiana said quietly. "Martin?"

"I will stay." The Harrow warframe bowed to her.

"There is one thing." Ric piped up form where he stood. The Vauban hadn't had lot to say during this briefing. "Li was going to try and find the Caretakers. She wants to join them and they keep refusing. I don't know if she found them or not. If she _did_ … and anyone _tracks_ her..."

"Yeah." Tiana sighed. "Anyone seen Li recently?"

"I ran a mission with her yesterday." Cathi Gata spoke up. Everyone looked at her and the Valkyr clad Tenno shrugged. "We like flying together. You want me to try and find her?"

"You probably have the best contact information." Tiana shook her head. "But you know what she is going to do if she finds out Anne is hurt." At that, _everyone_ in the _room_ winced. Li was a good Tenno. She was an incredible flyer, Something that carried over from her past as an Orokin fighter pilot. A past she _shared_ with Anne and Anne's mate Mitchell. Wait. Tiana froze. "Has anyone told _Mitchell_?"

Everyone stared at her, and then in unison, everyone in the room put a hand to their faces.

"Oh shit."

* * *

Far across the Solar System

"And out."

Mitchell breathed a sigh of relief as the small spacecraft he was commanding eased out past the last Grineer patrol.

The Grineer hadn't a clue. Mitchell and his ship had spent the last five days sneaking in and out of a depot on Ceres. Tenno ships could do similar things, but they cheated, using Void shields that masked every emission until they were on top of their targets and dropping the bioarmored warriors. NightNova wasn't a Tenno ship. The AI controlled ship wasn't anything that had been made by Orokin or the much less capable modern tech. It had aspects of both technologies, but melded into something very unique. It could vanish into Void fields, but not for very long. The odd pair made up for that lack with skill.

 _Mission accomplished._ NightNova's tone was calm as always, but held a hint of relief. It was becoming more human like as it interacted with others. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was very capable and becoming more such. The good. It was also trying to learn humor. The bad. _We have three dozen emails in the queue._

"Three dozen? Wow. We are popular. Send 'mission complete' to the Lotus and set course for home." Mitchell queried as the ship boosted out of range of the Grineer pickets. He had no idea what had been in the data packet that he and NightNova had planted in the middle of an under construction Fomorian and frankly? He didn't want to know. "Any high priority messages?"

"Three." NightNova said quickly. "One from the Lotus, one from Jasmina, one from Anne."

"Anne?" Mitchell felt confusion rose. Anne never contacted him in the field. She knew he needed to be clear minded on missions. Whatever she had to say would be important. It was a no-brainer. "Let me see Anne's email."

He read quickly, he always had. Anne was not a verbose person. Her message was a bare paragraph. Short and to the point. He read it again. Then he simply stared at the screen, eyes suddenly hazy with red.

 _We cannot land_ _at_ _Cetus. We can get in and out of Earth's gravity field_ _easily enough_ _._ NightNova said softly in Mitchell's brain. It had also read the email when Mitchell had. _But our stealth will be compromised in an atmosphere_ _and the area is ringed with Grineer bases_ _._ _Even if we got in, we would be blown from the sky as soon as we tried to take off._

"I know." Mitchell fought the rage back. "If we get killed, we do her no good. Scan the other emails. Anything new?" He gritted out the words.

"No." NightNova spoke aloud. "Jasmina reports that Anne is not hurt, simply frightened. But they cannot extract her. Anywhere she might go..."

"...would then be compromised." Mitchell snapped and then relented. "Damn. Sorry, NightNova. I know it is not your fault, but oh my _god_ , I need something to _shoot_ right now."

"She is my friend too." The AI sounded lost and alone for a moment.

"We both need to be calm. I am hooking us into the Caretaker network." Mitchell focused his mind as he had been taught and suddenly a wealth of information and other things flooded in. A normal mind would have been overwhelmed by the sheer rush of sensory input. Mitchell wasn't normal and neither was NightNova. Mitchell was the only person who could switch the channel on and off, a side effect of merging with NightNova. _Caretakers._ Mitchell sent as quietly as he could. _I just got the messages._

 _Anne is all right._ Elenia sent quickly. Mitchell had to smile. She always knew what to say to make him feel better. _I talked with her not ten minutes ago. She ate a huge meal and was going to get some sleep. They are taking good care of her._

 _This is an attack, isn't it?_ Mitchell asked.

 _Oracle warned us it was probably that._ Jasmina said with a growl. She had no patience when people hurt her friends or loved ones. Anne was both. _Rachel offering us sanctuary had to grate on any number of people. Someone tried_ _t_ _o disable two of the Tenno who were watching Cetus. A bad idea._ _Karl's Shadow is not a clan_ _to anger._

 _Casualties?_ Mitchell asked.

 _None._ Jasmina confirmed. _Whoever it was had some kind of jammer that blocked mental communication as well as something that hid her identity. I checked with Rachel and such tech existed. It doesn't now. Tenno are not supposed to use such._

 _Caretaker Jasmina… if they get_ **Anne** _into a field like that…_ NightNova asked, fear sounding in the AI's words.

 _Her mind hasn't been connected to the mass mind for too long. She won't die, but w_ _e might never find her._ Jasmina agreed. _We cannot allow her to be taken._ _The Oracle is mobilizing forces. I… Damn it! I don't want to involve Rachel and the First._ _I cannot swear to he and I don't want to put her in the position of having to defend someone who isn't sworn to her._

 _So don't._ Mitchell had a sudden thought. _Li wants to pay the debt she feels she owes._ _You know how she is going to react._

 _Much like we did._ The dry words were from Janas, the newest Caretaker. _People will think she has been corrupted by us._ He warned.

 _They are going to think that anyway._ Mitchell retorted. _Let them take it up with Li if they want to be fools. Has anyone seen Li?_

 _Not recently._ Jasmina replied. _We have been looking for her to head her off when she finds out. Her reaction will not be quiet or subtle, I think. Pilots generally aren't._

 _Hey! I resent that._ Mitchell had to smile as mirth came from all of the other minds. _Even if it is true. Orders, Jasmina?_

 _We can get you to Anne if you want._ Jasmina said quietly. _You can land and take off from the Citadel with no on_ _e_ _the wiser._ _We can get you to Cetus from here easily enough._

 _Do I want to know how_ _I land at the Citadel_ _?_ Mitchell asked carefully. He never had and knew the place had formidable defenses.

 _We send a ship to guide you to a secure landing pad._ Jasmina reassured him. _It hasn't been used in a long, long time, but Rachel and her people checked it. It is still solid._

 _It is not that I do not trust you or Rachel, Jasmina…_ Mitchell said slowly. _But if I am going to be landing in a strange place, I want to check it out myself first if possible. None of you are pilots. No offense._

 _None taken._ Jasmina promised. _We each have our own skillsets._

 _We can keep it as an option, but barring an emergency, I want to check it thoroughly first._ Mitchell relaxed as the other minds soothed his fear and anger. _I did carrier landings. They are not for the faint of heart when everything goes_ **right** _. I should stay up for now. I can be useful up here._

 _Indeed you can._ Jasmina reassured him. _The Oracle sent a warning, but it was odd._ _We need to make sure it was her who sent it. I don't see how this could be a trap..._

 _...but anything could be a trap._ Mitchell completed the thought. _There is nowhere to land on Titan._

 _They wouldn't let you land anyway._ Elenia replied. _Get into obit and I bet they will contact you. Right now though? You have a meeting to attend. NightNova, set course for Titan. Mitchell?_

 _I am ready._ Mitchell hated the feeling of being out of control, but as the world slid away, he felt anticipation rise.

The virtual room he materialized in was small and comfortable. Anne sat on the sole bed in it, her face apprehensive. It lit up as she saw Mitchell. Then she was crying as he was holding her.

"This is all my fault!" Anne cried as he stroked her hair gently. She was taller than him, so it was a bit awkward. He never noticed anymore. "If I hadn't been such a pain about getting out..."

"They would have picked another target." Mitchell hugged his mate gently. "You know this. We all knew _someone_ was going to do _something._ Nikis' threats wouldn't keep people scared forever. Does it hurt?"

"No." Anne reassured her mate. "Nothing hurts at all. Several people including Olim have said that the nanobots are working hard not to hurt me."

"I am surprised." Mitchell mused. Anne looked at him. "I know you don't remember a lot of our time in the military, but I remember some of Intel's tricks against the Separatists. They used nanobots on occasion. All was fair in such a war after all."

"I don't remember that." Anne looked thoughtful. A far better look on her than fear. "But the feelings… Yeah, that might be why I am so afraid."

"What Intel did was intended to sow fear in the enemy high command." Mitchell shuddered. "I wish I didn't remember it. But if I don't who will?"

"Let the past stay in the past, Wings of Duty." Anne kissed her mate. "We do not have long. I need to sleep. I just hope Kollette doesn't scare people too badly."

"Kollette is the one minding you?" Mitchell hugged Anne as she nodded. "She has her work cut out for her then."

"They could have hurt me, Mitchell." Anne said quietly. "They didn't. I don't know what to think. If this is an attack, I must be a Trojan Horse. I wonder of they can read my mind. See this?"

 _No, they cannot, dear Anne._ Those gentle words came from the mass mind. It was there and gone.

"I guess we should take their word for it." Mitchell shook his head. "I am going to try and talk to Oracle. See if there is anything I can do besides sit up here and worry."

"And try to stop Li from going ballistic."

"Not helping."

"Sorry."

* * *

Titan

"Are you sure about this?" The Tenno wore no warframe, but there was no question what she was. Her Octavia warframe stood on a rack nearby, unarmed and unmodded, it was next to defenseless. Not that the owner needed weapons to be dangerous, even exhausted and sitting as she was.

"For the third time. No Ess, I am not certain." Janet wasn't physically present in the chamber Ess sat in. Her true form wouldn't have fit in the entire underwater habitat. It was three times the size of an ancient Earth blue whale. "This seems to be the best probability. You helped greatly but you need to rest now."

"Yeah." The couch under Ess slid back and she reclined, sighing in relief as sore muscles were soothed by gentle ultrasonics. "I did what I could, Janet. I hope it is enough."

"I couldn't find them, Ess." The preeminent Oracle on Saturn said quietly. "I couldn't 'see' Anne or any of the futures pertaining to her clearly. I feel too strongly for her and her family. You helped. Never doubt that."

"I don't know if it is enough." Ess was halfway to sleep as music sounded in the room, her own 'gifts' given free reign. There was no one to hear it. Intentionally. Her music drove the listeners as mad as she was. "They are good people. I know bad things happen to good people every day, but that doesn't make it right."

"We will do what we can." Janet reassured her fellow Oracle. "Rest now, sister. Make beautiful music in your dreams." Ess was smiling as she nodded off.

Janet cut the projection with a sigh and twitched her flukes to shift her bulk a little in the ocean that was her home now.

 _And now… The battle for the souls of the Caretakers begins..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Oracle insanity**

Mitchell was almost beyond shock. Anne's predicament tugged at his heart, but he knew his duty just as well as she did. The service they had both been officers in was long gone even before the Old War and subsequent Collapse of the Orokin. His life since waking in this time had been a continuous series of shocks. The only thing that had kept him going through all of the upheavals had been Anne.

And now? He couldn't help her.

If there was a worse feeling for someone who prided himself on always being in control, he didn't have a clue what it might be.

"We are being hailed on a secure Tenno channel." NightNova could not really sound as shocked as Mitchell felt, but it tried. "By Li!"

"Li?" Mitchell asked, confused. "Are we close to Titan?"

"At our current speed, we are about ten minutes from orbital insertion." NightNova said slowly. "Why do I think this is not a coincidence?"

"Because you are very smart." Mitchell growled. "Let's hear what she has to say." The com opened and he spoke again. "Commander?"

"You know you do not have to call me that, right Mitchell?" Li's voice was amused.

"I know." Mitchell replied.

"And you do it anyway. Stubborn human." The Tenno had a smirk in her voice now. "I assume you are here for the same reason I am."

"Considering we cannot _detect_ you..." Mitchell trailed off, not willing to give offense.

"I am in orbit waiting for you. How are you holding up?" Li asked, her tone turning concerned.

"Honestly, I dunno." Mitchell heaved a sigh. "I think I am still in shock. I know Tenno have all kinds just like humans, but attacking Anne or whatever was done to her makes no _sense_."

"No, it doesn't." Li agreed. "Anyone dumb enough to challenge Nikis' protection of the Caretakers is dumb enough to try anything but that? I bet she was just convenient. Not that it makes this any better at all."

"No." Mitchell took a deep breath. "I was asked to corroborate the warning we were given. Grandmaster Olim has found tracking nanobots in Anne's body, but we need to know why Oracle helped us."

"We may not want to know, Mitchell." Li warned. "Or she may not be able to tell us."

"Any information we could get might help." Mitchell knew he was grasping at straws, but he had to do something besides sit. Funny. That had been what had set off this whole chain of events. Anne not wanting to sit still for very long.

"I was asked to come to Titan in a way that no one could have faked and then I was asked to wait for your arrival the same way." Li offered. "No matter what, Mitchell, I stand with you and Anne. Diamondbacks forever."

"Diamondbacks forever." Mitchell replied, their old squadron call and response a heartening moment in a bleak day. "I am honestly not sure why Jasmina has been refusing to let you swear to her and the others, Li. I know Anne would welcome you, I would too."

"I have been thinking about that." Li replied. "The Caretakers' sole duty is to the mass mind, protecting it and its allies. It might be as simple as Jasmina knowing that I could not focus on such exclusively. I don't think I could sacrifice you and Anne if it came down to it. We all went through too much, saw too much and did too much to ever let each other down willingly."

"Supporting each other is what wingmates are for." Mitchell agreed. "Anyway, we are less than ten minutes out. I am just not sure what I am going to do when we get there. We cannot land on water and your ship cannot carry me, can it?"

"It could." Li mused. "But getting you here would be a pain. I am assuming you are wearing a full flight suit."

"Of course." Mitchell replied evenly. "But it is not a _space_ suit. This far out I would either fry or freeze in minutes at best if I tried to spacewalk." He could feel NightNova's worry and spoke again. "No, Nightnova, that is not going to happen."

"If needed, I can move close enough for you to reach another ship from the canopy.' NightNova offered. "But it would be very dangerous. I could not maintain stealth and there are Grineer patrols all around this area."

 _There is no need._

The words were calm and gentle. The voice was neither male nor female. It had aspects of both. There was no one there. Mitchell tensed, but before he could do anything, the voice spoke again.

 _You are expected._ What had to be an Oracle was still calm. _We are setting up a conference for as soon as you are close enough, Mitchell. NightNova and Li are al_ _s_ _o invited to the conference. We will need all three of you._

"You know what is happening." Mitchell said flatly.

 _Yes_

"And you have a plan?" Li queried.

 _Yes._

Mitchell slowly shook his head. "How long..."

He gasped as the world fell away and he was suddenly standing in large room with a Tenno in a red white, blue and gold Zephyr warframe and a night black humanoid form composed of computer code.

"Don't _do_ that!" Li snapped, a Lex pistol appearing in her hand.

"Jean." Janet's voice preceded the once human Oracle into view. She wore her usual white robe, but here and now, no veil. She was not happy. "Ask first before pulling people in. That is what nearly got you all killed by Nikis and Draco when you did it to Jesse. Acting without asking is _rude_."

 _Apologies._ The voice from before sounded concerned. _We lack current human social dynamic information._

Janet glowered at nothing and then waved her hands. A sphere of bright blue light erupted from between her hands and then encompassed all three of the others. It did nothing that Mitchel could detect, but both Li and what had to be a representation of Nightnova gasped.

"That was a lie." Janet snapped as she stepped closer to Mitchell. "Mitchell, are you okay? This has to be a shock."

"I am numb" Mitchell was shocked when Janet laid her arms around him and gave him a hug. "Um… Oracle?"

"It is so hard to remember who I was sometimes, Mitchell." Janet said sadly as she retreated a step. "I lose myself in the visions. I didn't see what happened to Anne. Once I heard about it, I asked for help. I don't trust the other Oracles here."

Mitchell stared at her in shock and then he nodded. "Jesse."

"Jesse." Janet agreed. "They had the best of intentions, but they got my daughter killed. It turned out well in the end, but I will _never_ trust them again."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Li said quietly. Janet nodded to the Tenno. "You try to hug me and I will hit you."

"Li!" Mitchell exclaimed, embarrassment warring with worry. But Janet just laughed.

"You are not as stressed as he is." Janet shook her head. "We have time. This psionic communication will work as a virtual world. We can talk for days if needed and it will only take minutes in real world time."

"You warned Anne." Mitchell said slowly. "Why didn't you warn her before she touched the rug?"

"Because if I had, they would have tried to kidnap Anne and precipitated a fight with the First that would have left Cetus devastated." Janet shook her head. "I sent the warning to keep an assault force from trying to hit the Caretakers in the middle of the Citadel."

"Are they _suicidal_?" Li demanded. "I have never been there, but I know the First have incredible defenses."

"They have strong _e_ _xternal_ defenses, Tenno Li." Janet said quietly. "Inside? I do not know what they have, but it simply cannot be as strong. I saw several ways it could go and most were very bad. I know how many First are left. Yes, they would fight. Yes, any conceivable assault would be slaughtered in minutes. And all it would take is _one_ explosion in the wrong place to kill the mass mind or worse; drive them mad."

"Anne would say to sacrifice her if needed." Mitchell said slowly. Li shook her head. but Mitchell would not be moved. "I talked to her, Li. She told me that she might need to be sacrificed if they cannot undo the nanobots."

"No." Li said flatly. "I will not accept that. If need be, I will got to Cetus myself and shield her with my own body."

"That is exactly what I am going to ask you to do." Janet said with a nod. Li looked at her and Janet made a face. "Mitchell would go, but he cannot land safely or take off from Cetus with so many Grineer defenses all around the colony. You can get in and out safely."

"I could carry him." Li offered.

"Mitchell has a much harder job.' Janet said softly. "One that will test every ounce of his determination and patience. I know he has some skill at keeping his mouth shut." She smiled to take the sting from her words even as Li scoffed. "He does and you know it, Tenno Li."

"Well, I hope he is more diplomatic than what Anne told me of our time together." Mitchell stiffened but Li just shook her head. "I wanted to know. My memories are fragmented beyond recovery. We sat and talked for a bit the last time I offered my service to Jasmina."

"Having an ally that is not affiliated with a controversial organization is rarely a bad thing." Janet said smoothly. Li looked at her and Janet shook her head. "I don't know why she refused either. We had nothing to do with it. Or… _I_ didn't." She corrected herself grimly. Li and Mitchell stared at her and Janet flushed a bit. "The other Oracles act on their own and yes, they interfere. I don't think any of them precipitated this conflict, but I cannot be sure."

"And you cannot trust anything they say." Mitchell said slowly. Janet shook her head. "Ouch."

"I have one trustworthy ally and she is almost completely mad." Janet said heavily. "The others have power and the tendency to meddle as they see fit. They do not always see the consequences of their meddling, but luckily, they take a very long view and tend to act very slowly. I am incredibly angry at what they did to Jesse. I do not think I am ever going to forgive it."

"What Jesse did saved the database from the Grineer." Mitchell said quietly. "None of us liked the thought of a kid in danger, but she insisted. She would have gone on her own."

"Did you talk to her?"Janet demanded, a steely glint in her eye.

"I did." Mitchell slumped a bit. "I tried to get her to tell someone else. We all tried to get her to change her mind. To report the problem. None of us knew what was going to happen. None of us wanted her _dead_." Janet stared at him and then relented, her face turning somber.

"Between what happened to her and then what happened to Sheila, I am still incredibly angry." Janet admitted. Li gasped as Mitchell reached out to lay a hand on Janet's shoulder. Janet stared at him and her eyes glistened. "Do have _any_ idea how rare it is to have someone touch _me_? To let me feel _human_ for once instead of a beacon of hope that must never falter?"

Mitchell sighed and opened his arms. Janet all but fell into them. He held her as she started to cry.

"I am not going to do anything." Mitchell said quietly. "I like my health and your mate is scary as hell." To his surprise, Li laid a hand on Janet's shoulder as he had. "You want Li in Cetus. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to do something incredibly dangerous and scary." Janet gave herself a shake and retreated. Mitchell just looked at her and she smiled a bit tightly. "More dangerous than flying into combat actually. Not something you have any training for."

"What do you want me to do?" Mitchell repeated, settling into a parade rest position.

"There is a deeper problem here than what has happened to Anne." Janet said quietly. "There is a schism forming in the ranks of the Tenno." Li inhaled sharply and Janet nodded. "Yes. About the Caretakers."

"Nikis will kill anyone dumb enough-" Li started, but broke off as Janet raised a hand. "Oracle?"

"Even Nikis wouldn't be able to defeat _half_ the Tenno in the _system_." Janet looked both sad and worried. She made a face as Mitchell and Li both recoiled. "Oh, he could kill _everyone_ , but then, who wins?"

"The Sentients." Li said with a growl.

"Are you saying _half_ of the Tenno in the system want the Caretakers dead?" Mitchell asked, fear rising.

"Not all of them feel that strongly." Janet admitted. "But about half of them would say it was a good thing to purge _any_ Infested, sentient or feral. _And_ anyone affiliated with them."

"So the colony and my _son_ would just be collateral damage." Mitchell was starting to get angry. Janet nodded. "And I thought only _humans_ could be so shortsighted."

"Tenno came from humans." Li sounded quiet, but he knew her. She as just as furious as he was. "We share the same faults, if muted by time and training. I too do not understand. This is not something we can shoot or fly against. What can Mitchell do?"

"This problem stems from a lack of understanding of what the Caretakers are and what they do." Janet said quietly. "What we have here are two sides who are utterly convinced that they are right and the other is wrong." Li stared at her and then hissed. "Yes. It has not been done in a long time, but the Code does allow for such."

"Are you _insane_?" Li demanded. "They will _kill_ him!"

"Not if he does it by the Code." Janet replied, her voice even.

"What are you saying?" Mitchell asked carefully as Li moved to his side, as if to shelter him from something.

"Most of the Tenno involved who want the Caretakers gone see this as a purge of Infested as they have done throughout their history. They do not understand the mass mind. What it is or what it is not." Janet clarified. "The Tenno who _do_ understand are determined to protect your people as well as the Caretakers and good for them. But the conflict is brewing and it will be very bad if we let it ignite. Even fear of Nikis will only suppress it, not remove it. Sooner or later, it will come back again."

"So, we need to resolve the conflict." Mitchell said slowly. Janet nodded. "How can I do that? I am not Tenno."

"No." Janet's expression might charitably have been called a smile. The same way a _Lanx's_ was.

"You are the one whose mate was attacked _by_ a Tenno."

* * *

A day later, Phobos orbit

"This is a very bad idea." NightNova was utterly against this plan. Mitchell had been forced to take control of the ship himself since the AI flatly refused to help in any way except by maintaining the stealth systems.

"Show me a better one." Mitchell was tired. He had spent hours discussing the situation with Li, Janet and then the rest of the Caretakers. _Everyone_ was horrified by this idea. Anne had literally screamed at him when he had cut the connection he had to the Caretakers. A first.

"Mitchell, I don't want to lose you." NightNova said weakly. "I do not know if this is love as you humans call it or not. But I find the thought of not having you in the cockpit terrifying."

"Yeah." Mitchell sighed. "But you heard the arguments. All of them."

"Mitchell, this is _insane!_ " NightNova tried again. "You know what the Caretakers would be doing if they could get through to you."

"I know." Mitchell said sadly. "NightNova, if we precipitate a conflict between Tenno, would either of us be able to forgive ourselves?"

"To save Anne?" The machine snapped. "To quote you: 'Hell yes!'" Mitchell had to smile at that.

"I am a bad influence. Always have been." The pilot brought the ship down into the thin atmosphere and spotted his target. A small, disused landing grid far from any Grineer settlements. There was a very good reason Grineer avoided this part of Phobos and he was heading right for it. "Whoa!"

He jerked as sand suddenly obscured his vision. One moment, the sky was clear. The next, he could see nothing but blowing sand. His advanced sensors went crazy and all he had to fly with was instinct. He slowed his descent and started checking the old style radar display. It was rarely useful except in situations like this, with no visibility close to planetary surfaces. The people who had built NightNova had planned for landing under adverse conditions though. In moments, he got a radar return and dropped the landing gear. The ship touched down gently and Mitchell heaved a sigh of relief even as the sand storm continued to howl outside the ship. He worked through the landing checklist, leaving the ship ready to fly again quickly.

"Mitchell, _please_!" NightNova begged.

"Be well, my friend." Mitchell said sadly as he sealed his helmet and opened the cockpit. The sand was instantly everywhere. He ignored it as he climbed down from the nose of the ship. NightNova did not extend the ladder and Mitchell sighed before jumping from the cockpit to land on the permacrete of the landing area. The sand howled around him as he straightened to attention and spoke as calmly as he could.

"I need to speak to Elder Raven, Guardian Inaros."


	6. Chapter 6

**Forms**

It was very dark in the room Mitchell saw when he opened his eyes after the sandstorm released him. He had known as soon as Janet had proposed this exactly how dangerous this path was. He checked himself quickly. He must have slept at some point in the ride because he found his flightsuit gone, a robe of some rough material covering him instead. He had almost certainly been scanned while he was out, but in preparation for such, he had carefully removed anything that might be considered a weapon or tool on the flight from Titan to Phobos.

He checked his surroundings and the room, no _cell_ , was small and bare. There was nothing but a hole in the floor set in one corner, not even a bunk. He shook his head slowly. There was no door he could see. Nothing hurt. Indeed, he felt no different from when he had landed. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

"I know I am under observation. I apologize for the discourtesy in arriving unannounced." Mitchell fought hard to keep his tone level. He went totally still as a form appeared near one wall. The form didn't enter. A spray of sand arced up from the ground and suddenly there stood a tall, thin form straight out of nightmare. Mitchell kept his voice level through sheer effort. "Guardian Inaros."

 _ **You are brave, human.**_ Inaros said slowly. The warframe's voice was as horrible as his appearance. _**I will give you that.**_

"My name is Mitchell." The pilot fought hard to stay calm. It was very hard. Worse than diving into a furball with multiple enemies and no wingmen. "I am affiliated with the Caretakers." Inaros just looked at him and Mitchell forced himself to be calm before speaking again. "I claim a grievance according to the Tenno Code."

 _ **You**_ _ **what**_ _ **?**_ Had he _shocked_ the ancient Guardian?

"I was told that such a thing brought by a human required a quorum of Tenno Elders, if not a full convocation of such." Mitchell said slowly.

 _ **Do you have**_ _ **any**_ _ **idea…**_ The ancient Tenno paused and then shook his head. His voice moderated. "You do. That is why you came to me. I am neutral."

"Yes." Mitchell said with a nod, aware of how dry his throat was. "Your reputation is as a true neutral. You helped Iriana and Mishka, but you wish to be left alone. I can sympathize, but there is literally _no one_ else who has that level of neutrality. Everyone else who might possibly be accessible is either affiliated with one side of this conflict, the other or enemies who cannot be trusted. I do not like involving you. You were incredibly kind to both Iriana and Mishka, but my choices are slim now."

"You _do_ realize that if your grievance is denied, your life is forfeit?" Inaros asked after a moment's thought. Mitchell nodded. "It was set up that way specifically to keep people from pestering Hayden. He got tired of stupid people pestering him for silly reasons."

"I don't doubt it." Mitchell said with a soft chuckle that was anything but humorous. "Yes, it was explained. This is not a silly reason."

Inaros blew out a deep breath and when he spoke again, it was oddly archaic and formal.

"State your grievance."

"My mate has been infected with Orokin style nanobots." Mitchell said slowly. Inaros did not react and Mitchell continued. "All evidence points to a Tenno attempting to breach the defenses that now ward the Caretakers and the mass mind that they shelter."

"I heard a bit about Rachel offering them sanctuary." Inaros said after a moment. "That was not my business. Assaulting the Citadel has been tried many times. It has never worked out well for those attacking it."

"The one who warned us believes my mate was intended as a Trojan Horse." Mitchell kept his temper in check. "The idea apparently was to use the nanobots as a homing device and teleport a squad of controlled Grineer into the Citadel where they could wreak havoc on the Caretakers while they would be unprepared."

"Such has been _tried_." Inaros protested. "Not recently, mind you, but it has. The First would not take such a thing lightly. They never reacted well to such."

"But how many would die before they could act if the strike came as a surprise?" Mitchell argued as quietly as he could manage. "I do not know what you know or have been told." He turned the statement into a query and Inaros shook his head.

"Very little." Inaros admitted. "My own history with Infested is filled with pain and loss. But then Caretaker Elenia and Caretaker Jasmina worked to aid us, saved Ellen and her son David at risk to their own lives. Any possible debt we were owed for helping Iriana and Mishka were washed away by those acts. Iriana clearing me of brainwashing charges was simply icing on the cake."

"Healing is what she does." Mitchell said with a fond smile. Said smile vanished. "Is my grievance valid, Guardian?"

"I would say so." Inaros admitted. "But I am no Elder. Elder Raven _is_ currently here and I would love to know how you knew that. She did not publish the fact that she was coming to talk to Sean again about rehabilitation. She wants him back in the field. He has steadfastly refused, saying he wants to pay a debt to me. He has, and I hope she can get him to see that. He is a great help, but wasted here."

"Oracle told me to tell you everything if you asked." Mitchell said with a nod and paused as Inaros heaved a groan. "Guardian?"

"Just when I think things _cannot_ get more complicated, the _Oracles_ are involved." The Tenno said grumpily. "Their power is undeniable, as is their need to _meddle_." This last was sour.

"Funny." Mitchell blew out a deep breath. "Oracle Janet said the exact same thing."

"Janet." Inaros stiffened. "Nikis' mate? _That_ Janet?"

"Yes." The pilot shook his head. "She warned us. She warned that the Tenno are splintering. That the Caretakers are dividing the Tenno. They do not want to, but they are simply by existing."

"You are right." Inaros said slowly. "That grievance is not silly." He heaved a huge sigh. "I will tell Elder Raven you are here. What she does is up to her. You will remain in confinement, but we will not be cruel."

"Thank you."

With that, Inaros dissolved and vanished. Mitchell stared after the Tenno for a moment and then lay back head swirling with thoughts both good and bad. He lay back and closed his eyes. He was very tired.

"Mitchell?" A worried voice sounded and Mitchell jerked awake. He spun to see a woman garbed in Tenno robes standing by the wall where Inaros had appeared. Her face was mostly shrouded by a veil. "What are you _doing_?"

"Elder Raven?" Mitchell asked and the other nodded. "Someone infected Anne with tracking nanobots. She cannot go back to the Citadel or it may lead the way for an attack."

"And you came to _Inaros_?" Raven demanded. "He won't let you go!"

"Yes, he will." Mitchell said softly. "Whatever else he is, he adheres to the Tenno Code. I am demanding that my grievance be heard by the Elders."

"You _what_?" Raven unknowingly mimicked Inaros' words, the small part of her face that was visible going pale. "Mitchell! No!"

"They start rumors. They denigrate. They plot and plan." Mitchell said with a glower. "No big deal. But when they threaten the _Citadel_ with attack? _That_ is a big deal."

"They _what_?" Raven slowly sank to her knees. She was shaking, he noticed.

"The Oracle warned us before it could happen. They plan to launch a surprise attack on the Citadel, Elder." Raven was shaking her head, but Mitchell continued. "Using my mate as a Trojan Horse. Enough is enough. Even if it costs my life, I _will_ be heard."

"You are asking for a quorum?" Raven begged. "Mitchell, that protocol is clear. If even _one_ Elder says no, you die!"

"And if a Tenno or group of Tenno launch an attack on the Caretakers and they _or_ the First respond?" Mitchell argued as calmly as he could. "Which they _will_. Rachel has lost patience with this, Elder. You know what she will do if her territory or people are threatened. The _less_ said about Jasmina's reaction when she heard about this, the better."

"Mitchell..." Raven tried again. "You work with the Caretakers. You are not wearing their garment, but… You are connected to them. Is it an implant?"

"Yes." Mitchell said firmly. Raven shook her head.

"You set foot in a Tenno colony and every alarm they _have_ will go off." Raven said with a growl. "They will say you are Infested and they will be _right_. They will have the option of killing you on sight." Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest and she snarled at him. "Do you want to die?"

"What I _want_ is immaterial." Mitchell said flatly. "If I do nothing, someone will attack the Caretakers and they will react badly. Then their allies will react badly. The mass mind is a marvel, but it is acutely vulnerable. One grenade or missile in the wrong place and poof, no more mass mind. All of their biomass will go mad with them. Even if the Caretakers and colony live through that, there is no guarantee they will stay sane. That is discounting that little Dustin is there." At that, Raven blanched again.

"And Nikis has sworn to kill anyone who threatens his grandson." Raven said softly. Mitchell nodded. "Mitchell, we can stop this without jeopardizing your life."

"The only good point is that whoever did this went out of their way not to harm Anne." Mitchell said with a growl. "But they also tried to disable two Tenno of Karl's Shadow. They failed and fled without fighting."

"Who?" Raven demanded angrily. "Attacking that clan is a bad idea. Many people have found that out over the years."

"We do not know."Mitchell admitted. "Whoever it was had some way of blocking mental communication and hiding their identity from other Tenno." At that, Raven went totally still. Mitchell nodded. "That means probably someone with Orokin technology."

"We don't know that." Raven mused. "I know Orokin had things that would hide such, but… How do you know this?"

"Before coming here, I talked with Oracle Janet." Mitchell said simply. "She wants to keep this from turning into a full blown schism. For myself? I am _furious_. My mate is _terrified_. No one has any idea what the nanobots will do to her." Raven's shoulders drooped. "Elder, my life is meaningless. We need to head this off if we can before Nikis finishes whatever he is doing. Because you _know_ what he will do."

The Grandmaster of the Dead was not known for restraint in such cases. If he acted, people would die. Perhaps many people.

"I do." Raven said sadly. "Mitchell, you are set on this? Was it explained to you?"

"Janet told me some. I know little of the Tenno Code except that it exists." Mitchell slumped a bit. "I know that if anyone says 'No', my life is forfeit. But we have to stop this. I fear for what will happen to the Caretakers, that they would do if their charges are slaughtered. If the mind link breaks, we will lose Elenia at the very least. Possibly Jasmina as well and maybe the others. I can guarantee that if we lose Elenia again, Jasmina will flip right out and tear whoever did it to very small pieces. That or die trying."

"Yeah." Raven slumped a bit. "I know. What about you and the other humans?"

"Most of the others have been linked as long or longer than Elenia. They would perish. I might survive the feedback, I might not." Mitchell said sadly. "Even if I did? They are my friends. My family. Mikey is there with little Dustin. If anything happens to my son, just like Jasmina, I will kill those responsible or I will die trying. I know I am not alone in that."

"No. No, you are not." Raven shook her head. "I will call the Elders to convocation. This will take all of us. There are many who dislike or distrust the Caretakers, but few who actually know them act that way. You have a valid grievance." She slumped almost to the floor. "Ancestors help me, I am afraid."

"Me too."

* * *

Below the plains

Esther woke from her recuperation to find Louiso and Ari sitting beside the pool she had been submerged in. She looked from one to the other and both looked anxious.

"Louiso? Ari?" Esther asked as she sat up, the fluid cascading off her. She moved and nodded as every limb did as it should. The specialized repair systems in the base worked marvels.

"Just after you went under, we were contacted by a woman who claimed to be an Oracle." Ari said quietly.

"An _Oracle?_ " Esther hissed. "An Orokin precognitive?"

"I do not know." Ari shook her head. "Whoever she was, she projected her image in front of us down here. So _she_ at least knows where we are."

"We cannot move the base." Esther said after a moment's thought. "The food is here. We cannot abandon it."

"Esther, she said something very odd." Ari laid a hand on her friend's arm. Esther covered it. "She said that a human was claiming a grievance before the Elders. A grievance against us."

"What?" Esther stared at the glass woman and then at the Grineer who nodded. "That makes no sense. Why would the Elders listen to a human?"

"She said the human was doing it in the old way." Ari made her words a question and Esther shook her head.

"I do not understand." Esther mused. "Tenno are Tenno and humans are humans. We have little in common. The human Anne is still in Cetus?"

"She is." Ari replied. "Esther, we need to disable the nanobots. They are not going to let her in. We need to rethink the plan."

"They have to take her there for medical treatment." Esther shrugged. "They have to."

"They won't." Louiso said flatly. Esther stared at him, her entire stance dumbfounded as she rose from the pool and stepped out of it, the fluid cascading off her warframe. "According to this Oracle, who called herself Ess, they will not let her back in while she is contaminated."

"Then she will die." Esther swallowed hard. "No. She is human, they won't let her die."

"Esther, what of they don't?" Ari asked. "What do you know of the human named Anne?"

"She is one of the humans that the Caretakers enslaved." Esther shrugged. "What else is there to know?"

"She is _Orokin._ " Ari's tone held worry mixed with awe. Esther went totally still. "The Oracle said it and I did not believe her. I looked over old records. See for yourself." She pulled up a holographic display and oriented it so Esther could see it. The Tenno hissed as she read it.

"She and her mate are Orokin _war heroes?_ " Esther mused as she read the file again. "From _before_ the Old War?"

"It doesn't seem possible." Ari said quietly. "But the facts… Esther, we _cannot_ let her die!"

"They have to take her back. The First can heal her." Esther said weakly. "They _have_ to."

"They _won't_." Ari said sadly. "The Oracle said that _Anne_ demanded the First and Caretakers sacrifice her rather than open their defenses."

"What the hell did those monsters _do_ to her that she would sacrifice herself for _Infested?_ " Esther breathed in horror. "Ari, I am not a healer. Neither are you. We cannot save her if she is that far gone."

"That is just it, Esther..." Ari said slowly. "The Oracle said that Anne's mate is pressing for a full convocation of Elders. One where he will present his grievance and they will decide what to do."

"They have already proven to be too timid to act." Esther shook her head.

"Esther, _all_ of them will be there." Ari pressed. "We can make our case and find allies."

"If we step out into the light, Ari, the Caretakers' allies will kill us out of hand." Esther shook her head. "We are committed. Can you take control of Anne?"

Ari recoiled away from the Gara warframe, her face suddenly horrified.

"Esther! No!" Ari said sharply. "You do not know what you are asking me!"

"I know what I am asking, Ari." Esther laid a hand on Ari's trembling shoulder. "I know how horrible it is. Can you do it? Make her take a portal back to the Citadel?"

"Into the waiting arms of the First?" Ari demanded angrily. "Esther, our plan is _known!_ It won't work if they are expecting us. Louiso and his people would fight, but they would fall. For nothing."

"It is _not_ for nothing!" Esther snapped right back. "W have to stop the Caretakers and this is our best chance."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Ari retorted. "Kill the _First?_ "

The tableau was broken when a throat cleared behind them. All three spun and froze as a pitch black Nekros warframe appeared from the shadows. Ari cried out in terror and fell to her knees. Louiso started to raise his rifle and it was smashed out of his hands by a purple blur of energy. The most infamous Nekros in the solar system had a pistol in one hand, but the other hand was wreathed with evil looking orange light. Esther did not move as he took aim at her faceplate. She had no weapons right out of healing and even if she had been armed? She had no chance against him.

"You all the luckiest sorry excuses for scum in the solar system currently." Nikis sounded more than a bit miffed. "I am supposed to bring ya. I am only allowed to shoot ya if ya resist."

"Please do that. _Please_?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Strange**

Mitchell felt very odd.

It was not his surroundings. He had been in trouble with his superiors many, many times in his life. He had been called in front of Orokin fleet officers, Corpus executives and most recently Tenno and Caretakers to account for actions he had taken. It never got any easier though. Now was a case in point.

Inaros and Raven had been thorough. Mitchell didn't know all of what they had done, but once Raven had finished her talk with him, Mitchell had slept and when he had woken, he had been wearing the blue bodysuit he wore now. He felt clean for the first time in days. Sleeping in a flightsuit, even the special one the Caretakers had made for him, was not conducive to good hygiene. The suit was sealed around his body and even covered his face. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was the two warframes that were aiming weapons at him.

Neither of the two warframes was anyone he knew. He did not know the types of warframes or the weapons they carried. His few attempts at communication had been met with silence, so he had stopped trying. Now, all he could so was sit and wait for whatever happened. While he did, he scrutinized the room he sat in. It was bare. Not quite a cell but close. A small couch that had had woken on was the sole furniture in the room. The walls, ceiling and floor were not Orokin in design. Nor were they Tenno. He had seen the Citadel and a Tenno dojo, so he knew what original Tenno architecture looked like. The door was built in the Orokin style, a clamshell design that would fold into the flood when opened, and it had a bright red panel in the middle. It was locked.

He had known going into this that his life was probably forfeit, but he had hoped to do some good. He wasn't dead yet. That was a plus.

The pilot went totally still in his seat as the door opened and two more warframe strode in. One he did not know. One he did!

"...and I am watching you, _Ara._ " Grandmaster Nikis was not quite snarling, but it was very clear he was unhappy. "You step one _millimeter_ out of line and I will tear you into very small pieces."

"Such was explained to me." The female Tenno's words were calm, but odd. Mitchell couldn't understand why he felt worry suddenly. The words were calm. The warframe wasn't a type he knew, but he was no expert on Tenno. The colors were bright, almost cheerful in bright reds, blues and white. Something about her was raising his hackles, but he could not define what.

"Guards. Out." Nikis commanded.

Both warframes that had been aiming at Mitchell holstered their weapons and left without any word.

"You okay, Mitchell?" Nikis asked. Mitchell nodded. Nikis scoffed. "You can talk now. You know I don't hold with the whole 'we are silent' deal. I get better results when I talk to people."

"When you scare them shitless, you mean." The other -Ara?- said sourly. Nikis glared at her and she jerked. "Apologies, Grandmaster." She actually bowed!

"The only reason you still _breathe_ , Ara, is that Hayden and Nyx overruled me. What I wanted was too much and I agree that now. You earned my wrath and _many_ other peoples'." Nikis snapped. Ara nodded. "They hoped your long stint in cryo would remove your lusts."

"It did, Grandmaster." Ara said weakly.

"It _better_ have." Nikis snarled again and then visibly forced himself to relax. "Mitchell, you are in deep shit."

"Yes, sir." Mitchell said with a nod. "But I had to shock people or it would get bad."

"It is already bad." Nikis heaved a sigh. "But yeah. Nothing else would have shocked them enough to slam them out of their mindless hate. Infested have to die, period. It was what Tenno do. What Tenno have always done."

"Yes, sir." Mitchell swallowed slowly. "Is… Am I to die for this then?"

"Politicos are debating." Nikis shrugged. "I dunno what they will say. That is out of my hands, Mitchell. I assume she told you the bare bones of the procedure?"

"Yes." Mitchell nodded. "She said that… um.. you would be the one in charge."

"Lead cat herder, yeah." Nikis hawked and spat. "I am the eldest, so yeah. One more _fun_ job for someone like me. Gonna have to pay her back for this in some special way."

"They are coming after us, Nikis." Mitchell said weakly. "They attacked Anne."

"No." Nikis shook his head. "They subverted her. There is a difference. Iriana has gone to Cetus, she is checking Anne out now." Mitchell paled but Nikis just shook his head. "Karl's Shadow is clearing the area around Cetus. The Healer is safe."

"What about the ones who hurt Anne?" Mitchell pleaded.

"They are locked up next door." Nikis' tone might have frighted an earthquake. Ara retreated a step, but then stiffened. Mitchell just nodded. "They will get a chance to hear your complaint. That is the law. I am not neutral in this, not by a long shot, but I do abide by the Code." He shook his head. "Much as I hate doing it sometimes."

"Will they make you do it… if..." Mitchell broke off and bowed his head.

"No. You will go to sleep and not wake up." Nikis laid a hand on Mitchell's shoulder. "Mitchell, we Tenno can be hard, but there is a difference between being hard because that is what life demands and being cruel simply because we can." Why was he looking at Ara when he said that? Why did she flinch? Nikis retracted his hand and Mitchell nodded to the Nekros.

"So what will happen now?" Mitchell asked.

"Now we have medical personnel..." He glared at Ara again who wilted a little. "...vet you. We need multiple different scans done and Ara is very well versed in such."

"Is she a Healer?" Mitchell asked, only to have Ara recoil. Nikis spun and his hands were on his pistols. "Ah, Nikis?" Mitchell asked into the sudden silence.

"You gonna answer him or shall I?" Nikis demanded of the suddenly frozen female Tenno. "I can get _Trinity_ in here if you want." Ara shook her head savagely and Nikis nodded. "Then talk."

"I was a Healer, human Mitchell." Ara said softly. "I abused my powers. I was caught and punished."

"Tell him the rest." There was no request in Nikis' words.

"Grandmaster, _please!_ " Ara begged. "I was wrong! I was so wrong! I know it!" Mitchell stiffened as Nikis _drew_ his right hand pistol!

"I told you what I would do if you tried the 'woe is me' routine on me again." Nikis tone was now silky smooth. "This time, I won't blow you _arm_ off. Tell him."

Ara's whole body shifted. Suddenly, she seemed calm. No, not calm, her warframe was vibrating with tension, but she was… This was very weird.

"My name is Ara." The female Tenno said softly. "The Orokin called me 'Arachne'."

Why did that name bother Mitchell so much? There was a lot he did not remember, from the cryo and then Corpus brainwashing. He looked from the female Tenno to Nikis and back.

"You will know her as 'Spider White'." Nikis grunted and Mitchell jerked back on the couch as far as he could from the female Tenno. He knew _that_ name. Every Orokin had.

Spider White had been an Orokin boogeyman. A serial killer that rivaled any horror throughout human history. The numbers had never been added up as far as Mitchell knew, but for centuries, humans had been found cocooned in white webbing in their homes, drained of all their bodily fluids. Arachnophobia had been a human fear for as long as humans had written down their history, some the press had dubbed the killer 'Arachne', since most of the early victims had been male. Then the killer had shifted to females and 'Spider White' had been born. The killer had been renowned for getting into and out of places with top notch security, the only evidence of their passing a dead body encased in white webbing. Then the deaths had stopped. Just stopped one day and never resumed as far as Mitchell knew. Had Nikis…?

"You stopped her." Mitchell's words were half statement, half question.

"Our focus in those days was always the outbreaks." Nikis holstered his pistol. "The Tenno, that is. We had enough on our plates that it took centuries for police reports to accumulate. I ain't making excuses When we discovered her proclivities, we acted."

"And you didn't kill her… why?" Mitchell asked. "Because she is Tenno?"

"One reason." Nikis allowed. "Trinity wanted to see if we could help her. She is a sociopath, you see."

"I follow the Code, Nikis!" Ara snapped.

"And that is the _only_ reason Hayden didn't kill you where you stood when you were brought before him." Nikis retorted evenly. "You killed humans, Ara."

"I killed humans who were killing others and no one else could or would stop them." Ara snapped, angry now. "I killed when they could not be touched by the Law. Human society says what I did was wrong, but I _was_ protecting humans, Nikis! You know it!"

"So the people you went after..." Mitchell mused.

"Murderers, rapists, child molesters, slavers. All the worst examples of humanity." Ara said flatly. "Yes, I acted outside the Law. Yes, I dishonored the Tenno. But I would do it again."

"Don't act the wronged noble to me." Nikis snorted. "The _only_ reason you picked the ones you did was because few would miss them." Mitchell stared at him and Nikis shrugged again. "When people came to us in the first few decades, we didn't ask a lot about their pasts. We gave people a fresh start. We needed all the help we could get, we were up to our eyeballs in outbreaks and it took centuries to curb them all. Ara came to us in the middle of that, a runaway like so many others. We didn't realize until after she was caught and interrogated that she came to us as a means to an end."

"I wanted a better way!" Ara exclaimed. Mitchell gasped as Nikis _backhanded_ her! She rolled with it and stayed on her feet.

"Don't lie to me. You wanted a safe place to hide and plan your conquests." Nikis retorted. "You wouldn't know noble if it bit you on the _butt_. You are still the best forensic scientist we have available, so yeah, they let you out of cryo for this. There is enough horror in this broken world as it is. You step one _foot_ out of line and I won't put you into _cryo_ , I will put you in the _ground._ In _pieces_."

Not a threat. A promise.

For several minutes, no one spoke. Finally, Mitchell opened his mouth.

"So what happens now?" The pilot asked.

"Now, Ara examines you." Nikis shook his head. "I can't stay. I got a lot of crap I gotta handle before the Elders get off their duffs." Mitchell tensed but Nikis just chuckled. "Don't worry, boy. She ain't gonna be alone. Ever."

"You act as if you don't trust me, Nikis." Ara said quietly.

"Why would he?" Another voice asked and Mitchell's eyes went huge as a golden hologram appeared in one corner. The Nyx Prime warframe was shaking her head. "Why would any of us?"

"I never lied to you, Nyx." Ara was still quiet. "I never acted against the Tenno."

"You betrayed everything we believed in." Nyx replied, her tone calm. Underneath that calm though, fury lurked. "You killed because you could. Because it made you feel good to show your power. I am astonished you never targeted _children_."

Was it Mitchell's imagination that Ara stiffened a little at that? Maybe. She was hard to read.

"She won't get the chance ever again." Nikis promised. "By the Code, for such a complaint, we need corporeal Tenno to vet him and the others or I _would_ have pulled shades to do it and left her to rot."

"The more I learn about you Code, the less I like it." Mitchell said quietly. He was astonished when Nyx and Nikis both laughed. Ara did not.

"Welcome to _our_ world." The shade and Nikis chorused.

The Nekros glowered at the other corporeal Tenno for a moment and then left the room. Mitchell stared at the door as it locked again. Then he looked from the shade to the other and back.

"Will this hurt?" Mitchell asked slowly.

"Some of it will hurt." Ara did not move. She was eyeing Nyx who had her arms folded now. "I will do as commanded, Nyx."

"And none of us will ever trust you again." Nyx snapped. "Get on with it. Mitchell, lie down and relax as you can. I am here. I am watching. You are safe."

"Begging your pardon, Nyx, but relaxing is not going to happen." Mitchell sank down until he was stretched out.

"Oh ye of little faith." Ara sounded just a little amused as she stepped forward and then sank gracefully to her knees beside him. He eyed her out of the corner of his eyes as she reached for his head. Something touched him and everything went a little fuzzy. "This is pervasive but not like a virus. Oh. A worm? Fascinating creature."

Mitchell was tying to dredge up fear or any other emotion as something wrapped up his mind in coils of warm and pulled it close.

 _I will try my best not to hurt you._ Ara's voice was sad in his mind. _I see nothing wrong with what I did. Who I was. Everyone says I was. That I did wrong, but I don't see it that way._

 _You… killed…_ Mitchell managed to put those words out and another coil of whatever soothed him back down.

 _Yes._ The other was gentle now. _I did. But this? I will not kill you. We need you, the Tenno as a whole. I think… Yes. I can do this without hurting you._ Ara's voice was still calm in his mind and then he was elsewhere.

Mitchell stared up at a white ceiling. Everything around him was shaded in white and grey. He felt relaxed for the first time in a long, long time. Everything seemed hazy and far away, but a touch had his mind focusing. He stared as a black skinned hand retreated form him and he followed it to see a woman… No. This wasn't a human. Her skin was the same color as Nikis' warframe, not a human skin tone at all. Her hair was pure white and her eyes were a lavender that also wasn't human. The long pointed ears that stuck up from each side of her head were almost inconsequential. She wore brown Tenno robes that looked oddly archaic. Mitchell tried to speak and could not. The other nodded.

"I am Ara." She said quietly. "This is a mental plane where I can soothe your hurts. I will not harm you. Even if Nikis and Nyx would not slay me for harming you, I see no advantage in doing so, for myself or the Tenno."

Mitchell was pleading as Ara reached for his skull. The pain he expected did not come. Instead, something was pulled away from his jaw and he could speak.

"What have you done to me?" Mitchell tried to demand that, but his voice was very weak.

"You are afraid and angry." Ara was still gentle. "You have cause for both. I am not a threat to you, human Mitchell. I always picked my targets with care and you would never have been one of them. You have nothing to fear from me."

"Did you tell any of your other victims that?" Mitchell demanded, trying for anger. It would not come.

"None of them were gentle souls, human Mitchell." Ara was quiet. "I do not remember everything I did. It is possible I said such things to them. But this situation is very different. My life is in jeopardy now so I will be very careful with yours." Something touched Mitchell below his jaw and soothing warmth swept through him. "I will not harm you." She repeated.

"I cannot believe you." Mitchell said weakly. He could feel his resistance crumbling under whatever Ara was doing to him. It didn't hurt. Far from it.

"I know." Ara stroked his cheek. "This will frighten you no matter how I do it. This is all mental and losing control is never good for anyone, least of all someone like you who has to be in control at all times as a pilot. Nikis and Nyx have guaranteed my actions, and the Elders have ordered me to scan you, both physically and mentally. You will resist. It is what your kind do. You are a soldier and I understand you have to try and hold out. You cannot, but you must try. I hold no animosity for you or whoever you serve. I must do as I am told but I will do as little harm as I can."

"I… won't..." Mitchell sought to keep his mind and tongue still as pressure mounted on his skull. It too didn't hurt. Why didn't it hurt?

"No one can hold out against such forever, human Mitchell." Ara sounded sad now. "Not humans, not Tenno. But I mean you no harm-"

 _ **LIAR!**_

Mitchell stared as a new form appeared over top of him. He had never seen a Trinity Prime warframe from this angle before, but he was in no condition to admire the view. She crouched down beside him, her hand coming down to do something he couldn't see. Ara had recoiled almost all the way out of his view, but now she drew herself up and faced the other as Trinity - _The First!_ \- drew a Tigris Prime shotgun.

"Hello Trinity."


	8. Chapter 8

**Evils**

Mitchell stared as the Trinity Prime warframe made a noise more suited to a rabid animal in response to the other's greeting. Then he gasped as the shotgun in her hand roared. The exotic looking woman was thrown away from Mitchell to impact one of the walls of the chamber that was now shimmering with golden computer code. He hadn't really noticed the walls before, but now they were shimmering brightly and flared as Ara pushed herself to her feet, gaping holes torn in her torso. She obviously was not human. Nothing even remotely human could take such damage and live.

"I am obeying orders, Trinity." Ara was calm as she faced the furious Tenno.

"Are you?" Trinity knelt beside Mitchell again and her hand came off the fore grip of her shotgun. She touched Mitchell's neck and the warm, muzzy feeling he had been half enjoying despite himself faded, leaving pain in its wake. He bit back a groan as Trinity rose to her feet, her hands swift as sure as she broke open her shotgun and reloaded it. "This looks an awful lot like the first stages of programming someone." Mitchell stiffened as Ara stood silent, her face hooded. Trinity shook her head, her voice turning sad. "And what did we tell you about doing that?"

"If you wish me to hurt him, to leave him screaming in agony, Trinity, then I will do as you wish of course." Ara was _still_ calm, even under Trinity's shotgun. "The scans that the Elders require will hurt him a great deal."

"And you care about such now." Trinity's tone was hard. "Really?"

"No." Ara admitted. " _You_ care about such things, Teacher-"

Mitchell screamed as Trinity fired again. This time, the virtual image of Ara fell and did not rise.

"You _lying, little_..." Trinity grated out. "Nikis? I need Mag! Tell her to get in here and bring her _spoons_!"

" _No!_ " Ara screamed as she jumped to her feet, her virtual image reforming itself as Mitchell stared. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Nothing...wrong..." Trinity shook her head. Then she slumped. "I tried, Ara. I really tried. You honestly do not see anything wrong with what you do. Damnit, Ara! Why can you not _see!_ "

"I _do_ see, Trinity!"Ara begged as an odd metal clinking sounded from nowhere. "I do not understand it, but I know you do feel such things. I hurt you, all of you very badly. I never betrayed you. I never lied to you. You were the only family I ever had!"

"And again, with the lies. I am sorry, Ara. I failed you." Trinity bowed her head as another golden form appeared nearby. The Mag Prime warframe was unarmed, but she had a pair of spoons in her right hand. "She tried to program Mitchell, Mag."

"I see." Mitchel had heard a few tales about the First Mag. He hadn't expected her to be so quiet. She clicked the spoons together and Ara winced. "Come here, Ara."

"No." Ara retreated to the wall, her entire posture of fear. "Trinity, no!"

"Go with her, Ara. Now." Trinity might have been carved from stone as Mag took a long slow step towards the cowering Ara.

"I wanted to make you proud!" Ara exclaimed as Mag stepped closer. "You explained what I did wrong! You did help me. I do not understand why society wants what it does, but I wanted to make you proud of me! I was not programming him! I was trying to dull his pain. Yes, the techniques are the same, but Trinity..." She cried out as Mag reached her and grabbed her arm. "Trinity, _please_! I didn't program him!"

"I want to trust you, Ara." Trinity slumped, her shotgun's muzzle drooping. "But I can't. Go with Mag."

" _TRINITY!_ " Ara screamed as she and Mag vanished, her scream fading with the two Tenno.

Mitchell stared at Trinity. She was crying. He couldn't move and finally, he spoke.

"She was a friend." He said into the soft quiet.

"I thought so." Trinity slumped, her shotgun vanishing from her hands. "She fooled us all, even Hayden and Nyx. Hard as that is to imagine, she managed it. She used us as both a hiding place and as transportation to access her victims. So many humans killed. We can neither forgive nor forget."

"I am sorry." Mitchell put all of his heart into his words and Trinity turned to look at him. "I cannot understand what you feel, I am human, not Tenno. But I _do_ know about being betrayed."

"The really sad thing?" Trinity said as she knelt beside him. "She was true to the Code." Mitchell stared at her and she shook her head as he hands started to glow and the glow surrounded him. "She fought the outbreaks beside us. She fought humans who tried to use it as a weapon beside us. She saved my life, I saved hers. I counted her a sister even before I took her as a student."

"Then you found out she used her powers to kill humans." Mitchell could move now, but remained still as whatever had been wrapped around him faded completely under Trinity's power.

"She never denied it." Trinity was crying again. "Never lied to any of us. She doesn't see anything wrong in what she did. That is what made her so dangerous." She sighed, her sobs fading. "What _makes_ her so dangerous."

"A human doing that would be called a sociopath." Mitchell tried hard not to quiver in remembered fear. "Which I think was a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience."

"Exactly." Trinity laid a hand on Mitchell's brow and then heaved another sigh. "She was telling the truth. She did not program you. We could not take the chance."

"What will Mag do to her?" Mitchell asked.

"You do not want to know." Trinity shook her head and then reached down and helped Mitchell sit up. "We all warned her that she was under incredibly tight scrutiny. That if she stepped out of line, Mag would take her again." Mitchell looked at her and Trinity bowed her head. "Mag took it the hardest of all of us, I think. For her, loyalty was everything. There were others who broke, who could not measure up. Mag didn't care as long as they did their best. She never relented in training, but she never pushed people past what they could endure either. Ara was one of the best, she was so smart and so good. But also so broken. We all liked her despite her handicaps in dealing with emotions."

"And then you found out what she was." Mitchell reached out to lay a hand on Trinity's arm. Trinity nodded. "I am sorry."

"She never quibbled, even when Mag hurt her." Trinity shook her had. "Even when I scanned deep into her mind with Nyx, trying to find out what caused it. I know it hurt her, but she never resisted."

"Why not?" Mitchell asked only to freeze as Ara and Mag appeared nearby. Ara was quivering. Mag was a statue. "Why not resist if you were being accused falsely?"

"I was guilty." Ara said simply. "I did what I did. I did not think the Tenno would object to the humans being culled of some of their worst." Mag hit her and Ara took the blow. "I understand their anger even if I do not understand the cause of it. I hurt my family. I deserve what they do to me."

" _Stop..._ " Trinity snarled. " _Talking!_ "

"Stop." Mitchell said as Mag raised her hand again. "Wait. Mag, Trinity, wait. Ara, no, don't talk." He said quickly when she opened her mouth. She stared at him and then closed her mouth. "Trinity, the other Tenno all feel betrayed. I know that feeling. I know the rage that comes from such. Ara, if you talk, they react badly." Mitchell shook his head when Ara opened her mouth. "Just nod or shake your head." Ara's eyes were cold and flat as she nodded. "You do not want to betray them, do you?" Another head shake. "You want to do what Nikis commanded." She nodded. Mitchell nodded slowly, his racing heart finally slowing. "Trinity, we need her."

"Mitchell, you cannot trust her!" Trinity exclaimed.

"I am not going to trust her." Mitchell said with a shrug. "I trust _you._ " Trinity stared at him and he shook his head. "This whole thing is going to be bad on toast, Trinity. Emotions are going to be high enough."

"And you think _she_ can help?" Mag demanded.

"What are her options, Mag?" Mitchell asked reasonably. "If she crosses Nikis, she dies. Probably in even more pain than _you_ can inflict. _Then_ she winds up in your care forever from what I understand." Mitchell shivered as Mag chuckled evilly. "And even if, by some miracle, she manages to flee, where would she _go?_ "

"That is a good point." Mag admitted. Ara's face betrayed nothing as the shade eyed her. "The Lotus is bad enough trying to hide from, but Nikis is worse." Ara did not react and Mitchell shook his head again.

"There are those who have hidden from both." Mitchell said flatly. "And Stalker would _love_ someone like her."

"Who?" Ara asked and then raised her hands as _everyone_ glared at her.

The two shades looked at each other and then at Mitchell who sighed.

"No one knows who Stalker is or was." Mitchell said with a grunt as he stood up, Trinity helping him to rise. "But most of the Tenno I have dealt with call him a kinslayer."

"A Tenno who has abrogated the Code?" Ara asked, her face cool and remote.

"No one has said if he is Tenno or not. My thought is yes. One who swore binding blood oaths to destroy the Tenno." Mitchell corrected. "He believes that Tenno are responsible for the Collapse of Orokin and hold them all responsible for such."

"If he has broken with the Code, then he is not Tenno." Ara said flatly. "I never broke with the Code."

" _You killed humans!_ " Trinity's voice was a terrible thing as her shotgun appeared in her hands again.

"Ara! Stop!" Mitchell said with a snarl. "Provoking Trinity will not..." He paused and then shook his head. "What are…? No." He changed course in mid sentence. "You are pushing her buttons intentionally. Why? Why get her to hurt you?"

Trinity and Mag were both frozen, Trinity's shotgun up and aimed. Ara was a black skinned statue as well, Mitchell looked at Trinity and she slowly lowered the shotgun. Ara slumped a little.

"She needs to hurt me. She needs to let her rage out. I hurt her." Ara's voice was small now. "There were so many people I wanted to hurt, that my soul cried out to hurt. I never wanted to hurt her." Trinity was shaking her head, but her shotgun was aimed at the floor now. "I never wanted what I was to splash on you. Sister."

"Never call me that again." Trinity snarled. Then she vanished.

"I sincerely hope you know what you are doing." Mag said with a shrug and then she to was gone.

"Me too." Mitchell stared at Ara who eyed him. "I have dealt with a lot of different minds in recent memory. People who would be considered outcast or different. You were not programming me."

"Trinity is right." Ara did not move. "I could. She taught me well."

"And you know what will happen then." Mitchell could not resist a shiver.

"Hurting me helps them." Ara shrugged. "It is not pleasant, but they have to get past the rage." She shook her head. "Trinity in particular needs the catharsis."

"So this is _clinical?_ " Mitchell demanded. " _Planned?_ "

"A Healer fixes what she can, eases when she must. This needs fixing." Ara said quietly. "Despite all of what Trinity tried, I do not have the prime requisite for Healing. I lack the empathy that is required for such. Society and my own peers may call me a monster, but I see a problem that needs fixing and I fix it. Their hate is a problem. My pain is a small price to pay to fix such a problem."

"And if _I_ was a problem?" Mitchell said slowly.

"You would not leave this environment." Ara's reply was short and matter of fact.

"And if someone were to ask you to betray the Tenno?" Mitchell gasped as Ara was suddenly in his face, hand around his throat. She held him a few centimeters off the ground, seemingly without effort. Her grip was tight, but not painful. He knew without asking that she could kill him without any more effort.

"They would die." Ara said as she laid him back on his feet. She released him and stepped back. He massaged his neck and then nodded.

"Utterly ambivalent. Utterly neutral." Mitchell mused. Ara just looked at him and he smiled a bit forlornly. "Do you know how rare it is to find someone who simply doesn't care about things like profit or power?"

"I saw Orokin rise." Ara said flatly. Mitchell stiffened and then nodded.

What little he knew about that time was a horror of war and chaos. The old guard of the world had not gone quietly into the night, none had wanted to surrender what little power they had to another. Even Talia the First as beneficent as she turned out to be. There had never been any large scale exchanges of weapons of mass destruction, but everything else possible had occurred. It had taken _millennia_ to clean up the mess.

"Fair enough." Ara's eyes widened just a little as Mitchell sat and then slowly laid himself out. "You said you can keep the scan from hurting? I do not actually like pain."

"I can." Ara did not move as as Mitchell relaxed as best he could.

"Then I ask you to do so." Mitchell stated formally. "I do so taking full responsibility for my actions. I will take whatever blame is laid. You know better than to cross Nikis."

"I earned his ire. I followed the letter of the Code and not the spirit of it." Ara slowly knelt beside Mitchell, her hand cupping the back of his head. "I did not understand the spirit of the Code. The others took a long time to try and explain it to me, but I did not understand it. Truth be told, I still do not."

"But you are here now." Mitchell relaxed as the soothing energy poured through him. "And you have another chance."

"Understanding it is not required." Ara's hands were gentle as the warmth seeped around Mitchell and he felt himself wrapped up again. "I will do as asked, no more, no less. My very presence hurts Trinity. My feelings are unclear, but one thing is totally clear. I will not let anyone hurt her."

"Not even me."

He took those odd words into slumber.

* * *

Later

Mitchell woke in the room he had fallen asleep in. He was alone in the room and he felt good. The door opened and he was on his feet as Healer Iriana hustled in, her face anxious.

"Iriana?" Mitchell asked as the Healer moved to his side. "What is wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Iriana said as she took hold of his arm, guiding him back to the couch. "One of the most monstrous people in the history of Tenno Healers is awake and aware in this time. Nothing wrong with _that_ at all." Mitchell did not bother to resist. Iriana might _look_ small and frail, she was anything _but_. She could likely wad him up and throw him out with yesterday's garbage. "Really, Mitchell, what were you _thinking_?"

"I was thinking that they attacked my mate." Mitchell said as Iriana examined him, her eyes now glowing as she focused her power. It was very disconcerting, but he trusted her.

"Not that. I understand _that_." Iriana sighed and relaxed. "You _let_ that monster into your _mind_."

"She did not hurt me." There was no point in dissembling. "Between you and the other Tenno, both shade and not, I doubt she can get away with anything."

"Mitchell, that is not the _point_." Iriana shook her head and sat back, her posture easing and the glow in her eyes fading as her control resumed. "That being is _incredibly_ dangerous. Her method was to gain a subject's trust, then spend a great deal of time working on them. Setting her web into place. Then and only then would she strike. That is why they called her what they did. She was a spider, a hunter. The epitome of patience in the stalk. And you _willingly_ laid down in her web."

"Iriana..." Mitchell shook his head. "The Elders will likely call for my death." Iriana shook her head and Mitchell shook his. "Iriana, Janet told me the odds. She explained the chances. Thirty three elders in a full convocation. Nineteen of those want the Caretakers eliminated. All it will take is _one_ , Iriana. And even if they accept my complaint as valid, then we go to trial."

"Mitchell..." Iriana slowly pulled him into hug and he shook his head. "I… They can hear you through me. Anne is crying. So are bunch of others."

"I know." Mitchell slumped. "I can't open up though. I have to see this through. If I don't, the Caretakers and their allies go to war with the rest of the Tenno. Who won't have a _chance_ against _Nikis_ and the _First_. You _know_ what will happen. The Caretakers and mass mind do not want such horror on their behalf. I had to try. I _had_ to."

"I do." Iriana was crying softly as she held Mitchell. "Mitchell..."

"I am a sailor of Orokin, Iriana." Mitchell said quietly. "My job was to place myself, my skills and my body, between those who cannot fight and those who wish them ill. The mass mind cannot fight."

"I know." Iriana said sadly. "You do not stand alone, Mitchell. Know that no matter _what_ happens, there are many who understand the difference between what is _right_ and what is _easy_."

"Thank you, Healer." Mitchell said and then jumped as the door hissed open. Two warframes stood there and Iriana rose, her face settling into a mask. "What now?"

"More scans." Iriana pulled Mitchell to his feet and the pilot let her guide him. "We have time. Nikis is following the old ways precisely. He is talking to everyone connected to the Caretakers." Mitchell paused.

" _Everyone?_ " The pilot gulped as Iriana nodded.

"Oh dear."


	9. Chapter 9

**Duty**

"No."

The word was quiet and calm, but the tension in the room seemed to rocket even higher than it had been. Avalon was never 'relaxed' any time Grandmaster Nikis came to visit. Even when he was not hostile it was always hard to forget just how powerful and volatile he was. No one moved as Nikis turned to eye the person who had spoken.

Michelle's life had not been fun at all. She hadn't known for most of her life that her mother had been one of daughters of the Orokin Emperor. That had never been a focus for her. Her four siblings had provided more than enough problems and angst for _two_ lifetimes. Then they had died, killed by her father's madness and what had happened after had been worse in many ways. The only good thing was that her mother had found her before her father could finish the job and while Michelle's life was not easy now, it was far better in some ways than it had been. Her sister stood beside her, Jesse's face ashen, but her posture firm as she supported her sister.

"Princess Michelle." Nikis' tone was formal, oddly stilted and archaic. It was also oddly sympathetic. "I have no leeway in such a situation. It is not a request. Do you follow the Code or do you not?"

"Grandmaster Nikis!" Michelle's mother protested. Normally, the Empress of Orokin was the one in charge in any given situation. Not this one. None of the Royal Guard seemed to be _breathing_. Then again, they were Tenno. They understood. If need be, they would pile their bodies in front of Michelle. That was the job, protecting the Royal family from any threat. In this case? They would fail. They would fall trying, all of them. Something that everyone -including Nikis!- were trying hard not to have happen. "That is patently unfair. She is healed. You saw the scans!"

"I have." Nikis sounded tired now. "What is more, despite our various disagreements, I _trust_ your scans." The ancient Nekros admitted to more than one intake of breath. "But many of the others do not know you. All most Tenno know is that Michelle was Infested. Then she was healed of Infestation. Not how, or why or by whom. We cannot tell them."

"The Elders know." Eliza did not quite snarl that.

"Most of them." Nikis allowed. "But letting Avalon become common knowledge is a bad idea. Even Tenno can blab things." He paused as Eliza looked away, her face sad. "Do not mourn him, Empress. He would not wish such."

"I know." Eliza sighed. "Tenno Aziz was not perfect by any means. He was flawed as any human, but he did what needed to be done and he succeeded brilliantly. Do not attempt to forbid me grief for a hero's passing, master Tenno. Do not." Eliza demanded.

"I have seen more heroes fall than you have had hot breakfasts, Empress." Nikis retorted evenly. More than one of the others in the room bristled, but no one moved. Wise of them. "He did the right thing, his crazy way as always but that does not change the fact that he did what he did. Now _we_ have to do what we must. This schism must be dealt with before it comes to blows. If it comes down to it, you know where I stand."

"As do I. With the Caretakers and what they ward." Eliza shook her head. "Grandmaster, is it truly that bad? Civil war within Tenno ranks?" She really didn't want an answer, but he had to give it to her.

"Almost." Nikis sighed deeply. "The ones who hate the Caretakers have finally acted openly. They have been very careful not to kill anyone but that restraint won't last. If the Caretakers are given an open target? They _will_ act. Attacking Anne the way that was done has lit a fuse that is burning. It is burning fitfully, but it _is_ moving." More than one person looked confused at the Nekros' words, but Eliza just sighed and laid her face in her hand.

"You are asking my last birth daughter to throw herself into the firestorm, Nikis. She isn't the only one who... who..." Eliza trailed off, her face working. Nikis bowed his head and then Eliza gasped. "No!" She shot to her feet and the tension level rose again. " _No!_ "

"Mom?" Michelle started, but paused as Jesse laid a hand on her arm. "Jesse?"

"I touched the Caretakers too." Jesse said quietly. "He is probably waiting to demand my presence formally." Nikis nodded, silent and Jesse sighed. Then she grinned. "All this time I wondered what it would take to make you quiet, Grandmaster."

More than one person blanched. Eliza paled, but then Nikis chuckled.

"Don't push your luck, kiddo." Nikis warned, but it was amused rather than biting. Said amusement faded with his next words. "I do not blame any of you for having misgivings. I have more than my own share. I cannot guarantee safety in this. My own power is too blatant and at the same time, too circumscribed in most situations. I can wield it against any target I can see, but the enemy here is skulking around the edges. They have valid concerns, but their methods are going to provoke a firestorm as you say. Stalker must be laughing his ass off right now. Tenno fighting Tenno." He shook his head. "I prayed never to see such again."

"You have seen it before." Jesse's words were not a question.

"I have." Nikis slumped a little. "It happened a couple of times in the first few centuries, divergent paths, different takes on the Code. Never our finest hour when Tenno fought Tenno. That was what finally prompted Hayden to write down the Code. Hard to argue with such, but also hard to change when he finally passed on."

"Correct me if I am wrong..." Michelle said slowly. "You are eldest now?" Nikis glowered at her and she nodded. "Could you not change things?"

"You know about cause and effect, Princess." Wonder of wonders, Nikis wasn't hostile. Indeed, he sounded almost approving. Michelle nodded, her face grave. "Debating things in such ways was never one of my primary skillsets. Don't get me wrong. I have done such, but I was never good at it. I get too involved in things. Seeing the big picture, seeing all of the potential ramifications, I am not so good at that. For my own area of expertise I am pretty good. For the Tenno as a whole? Not a chance. Sooner or later, someone would piss me off, intentionally or not and we would be back at square one. Usually with a mess to clean up too."

"Damn." Michelle sighed. "If we can solve this, an amendment to the Code may very well be warranted."

"Maybe." Nikis shrugged. "If so, I will leave it to experts to tell me the various pros and cons. If they need me to decide such? I will. That is my duty, but I will not judge hastily or without all the information I can get."

"Grandmaster, please." Eliza begged. "You would take _both_ my daughters?" Nikis heaved a sigh.

"I don't want to." Nikis sounded sad now. "We have had our disagreements. No matter what else happens, Jesse and Michelle deserve better than to be paraded around in front of a bunch of old fossils."

"Nikis, _I_ touched the Caretakers!" Eliza said quickly. "So did _you_!"

"You touched Jasmina through a hard light hologram." Nikis corrected. "No contamination was possible that way. Before that? You touched Lisa, but you were scanned thoroughly both before and after. They took our word for _that_ at least. And me? I tried to beg off. They won't _let_ me."

" _What?_ " That incredulous words came from several throats.

"Who would dare?" Eliza demanded.

"You want the short list or the long list?" Nikis groused. "Short answer is that one of the Elders asked another Guardian to request intervention. Hayden himself told that gal to go pound sand. They are not getting involved unless we make them. The Elders have already done some things that required shade assistance to keep under wraps but the shades don't want to get involved in a fight between Tenno. Understandable. If my own grandson wasn't in danger, _I_ wouldn't either. Yeah, I like Jasmina, Mishka and the others, but this is gonna be a mess. Hayden put his foot down. I am eldest, I have to chair even though I am anything but neutral in this. I don't want to. I want to shoot those responsible. But life doesn't care what I want."

"Empress… I..." Michelle had paled so far that Jesse took hold of her arm to help her keep standing.

"We know our duty." Eliza sobbed softly. "This is your choice, not mine. But I am not too proud to admit that I am afraid. So afraid."

"Take care of Gali." Michelle said quietly and then nodded to Nikis, straightening herself. "Even though I am can no longer wield a warframe, I follow the Code, Grandmaster."

"A small part of me was hoping you would say no." Nikis admitted. He looked at Jesse who nodded as well. He beckoned to the floor beside him and both females started towards him. A shadowed form stepped down with Jesse and Nikis nodded to it. A Mag Prime warframe started down, but paused when Nikis shook his head. She turned to Eliza who frowned.

"Will you leave Michelle unwarded, Grandmaster?" Eliza asked in a tiny voice.

"No." Nikis' tone was calm, but underneath lay iron. "Karl's Shadow has declared that your daughters will be safe. Mori, Olim and Will will ward Michelle while she is away." Eliza's jaw dropped before she could resume her control. A Royal Guard, a grandmaster Cyberlancer _and_ a master swordsman? They were taking her safety very seriously. "Alicia and Rica will ward Jesse alongside Draco." Nikis paused and chortled. "And _try_ to keep her out of trouble."

"Good luck." Eliza said sourly but she was smiling through tears as Jesse flushed. "You are going to need it."

"We all are." Nikis agreed as the floor lit up around the feet of the mismatched quartet.

In moments, the portal swept them away and they landed on a very different platform, one surrounded by Tenno in warframes. The Citadel was on a war footing and everyone was tense. All of those lowered their weapons as they saw who had arrived.

"Jesse! Michelle! You came!" Rachel swept forward, holding out her arms. Jesse was first to hug the Leader of the First, but Michelle was just behind her. It should have been uncomfortable, hugging a Saryn warframe. Neither of them minded.

"We know our duty." Jesse said quietly as she took a step back. "Tenno should not fight Tenno."

"Tell that to the creeps who hurt Anne." Jasmina said from nearby. She was as prickly as ever but then she gasped as Jesse stepped forward and hugged her too. "Jesse!" She protested, trying to not move for fear of hurting the unarmored young Cyberlancer.

"You do not stand alone." Jesse said flatly. "You and yours will never be alone."

"Enough with the luvy duvy." Nikis sighed as _everyone_ glared at him. "We ain't got time for this. You now that Rilla at the very least is gonna deny it."

"What?" Jesse asked as everyone but Michelle and Draco bowed their heads. "Rilla? _Elder_ Rilla?"

"Yeah." Nikis said sourly. "She thinks being traditional means she doesn't need to change anything at all. She wouldn't change _underwear_ if she could help it." Jesse made a face, but no one laughed. "Don't get me wrong. Tradition has its place, same as honor. But take either too far and bad things happen." He turned to Draco who remained as shrouded as ever. "You know they are gonna press you."

Was that a shrug from the camouflaged Tenno? "Let them try."

"Too bad I am gonna be running this shitshow." Nikis snickered. "I might almost wish to see what happens when they do."

"You will probably hear it." Jesse said sourly. "One thing. _Mom_ told me she was helped by the Caretakers. Is my mom being called? How could they manage that?" Nikis shrugged as everyone else looked at one another.

"I understand that is under discussion."

* * *

Titan Orbit

"Let me be sure I have this straight."

Oracle Janet prided herself on being in control. It was a prime requisite for any psi powers at all if the user did not wish to die or go mad. Or worse. Yes, there were worse things. No, she did not want to contemplate them. Especially now.

But she was _so tempted!_

The ship her avatar was currently standing in was a standard Tenno assault craft. A Scimitar design if she was not mistaken. She had known this was coming. Her own visions were clouded by her proximity to Jesse and many others involved in the current mess. The other Oracles were not so limited, but had far less power available despite their numbers. Ess had given Janet a heads up though and the other female Oracle was a godsend in many ways. Even mad, she was far more trustworthy than the rest of the Oracles to Janet's mind.

Indeed, the only reason Janet was here at all was that two of the other Oracles had begged her to come along with another very concerned party.

"You want me to let my human body which I was told was _disposed of_..." She glared at Caroline who had the grace to look abashed, or as abashed as a sea turtle _could_. "...be scanned so that you can determine if some people who _helped_ me though one of the most traumatic experiences in my life are guilty of some crime against… who?" She asked the other hologram whose lips were set in a grim line.

"Against the Tenno." The Lotus said severely. "Not that I agree with that. With you being subverted by the Caretakers or the actions being taken now by various parties." She was not happy. Not at all.

"So they want to scan my corpse and see if they can determine if the Caretakers defiled it in some way that the First didn't see." Janet said savagely. "On top of the horror that Rasputin did to me." Her eyes flashed dangerous. "I wil need too find a way to thank those responsible properly for reminding me of _that!_ "

Both of the Tenno in the ship winced. It wasn't every day that a _human_ held and nearly _released_ enough sheer psionic power to wipe out all life in the Solar System. She had nearly died as a result of that.

"Janet… I..." Caroline started weakly but broke off as Janet speared a finger at her.

"Be silent, Caroline." Janet snapped. The turtle shut up. "I am not happy with you. You say I am in charge, but then you go around my back with this… This _idiocy_. Don't the Tenno have _enough_ enemies?" She demanded of everyone. "What the hell do you hope to find, hmm? Some kind of mind control implant? Some kind of infection that the _First_ didn't detect?"

"There is no call for rudeness, Oracle." The female Elder said sternly. "We simply wish..."

" _To kill my friends_!" Janet cut her off. Everyone went still as she started to glow. Never a good sign with her. "You can say it, Elder. I know what you want. You want them dead. Nothing else will suit you." The glow cut out as she reasserted control. Then she shook her head. "Nothing I say or do will change your mind. So here is my answer: 'Get lost'."

"What?" The other Elder looked shocked as Rilla opened and closed her mouth.

"You have no authority here, Tenno!" Janet snapped. "I honor your people's dedication to defending the remnants of humanity, but this is not a _defense_. You are attacking people who have done _nothing_ to you. I refuse to help you in any way. You may have trapped Nikis in this kangaroo court mockery that you have erected to cloak your actions in some faint resemblance of civility, but you and I both know _you_ would shoot every last man, woman and child yourself and have no problem sleeping at night, Rilla."

"I offer them mercy." Rilla said with a growl. "I will do what Tenno have always done."

"Will you?" Janet looked from the two Tenno to the Lotus who looked sour and shook her head.

"She doesn't speak for me." The Lotus said quietly. "Or for my children."

Janet paused at that. The Lotus' true children, the survivors of the Zarimon Ten Zero Void Jump incident, were incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous. Most of them could not be close to fleshy squishy things like humans or some Oracles without causing harm. Janet had found them to be many things, truly children in so many ways. She liked most of them and they liked her. Neither feared the other and that was a good thing. She learned from them and they from her. Also a good thing.

"Do you deny our request?" The male Elder said softly. Janet looked at him,

"Funny." The Oracle mused. "What part of 'We want your body' was a _request_?" She shook her head as Caroline groaned. "Be _very_ glad Nikis wasn't here. He _would_ have shot you for that. As I understand, that was a killing offense where he grew up. Demanding another man's wife."

"We do not want a fight with you or with other Tenno." The male Elder pressed. "We want to resolve this."

" _Some_ of you don't want a fight, Elder Gruss." Janet retorted, her eyes on Rilla, who flushed. "Because you know you will _lose_. When Tenno fights Tenno, no one wins."

"We will cleanse the taint!" Rilla sounded fervent.

" _What_ taint?" Janet demanded. "Or have you forgotten where Tenno _came from_ , you silly female?"

"You cannot talk to us like that!" Rilla drew herself up, but the Lotus shook her head and vanished.

"Oh, I can't, can I?" Janet asked in a silky soft voice. Caroline gave an 'eep' noise and vanished as well. "Let me make this very clear, _Elder_." There was precious little respect in Janet's voice now. "I am not Tenno. I am not under your authority. I acknowledge that you do wield considerable authority in the areas you control and I do think that most of the time, you people do good. I also think that you in particular and others of your peers have your heads so firmly lodged up your asses that sooner or later you will bite yourselves when you take breath. The answer is 'No' and 'Get lost.'"

"I am sorry you feel that way." Rilla said as golden energy erupted around Janet who stared at her. It formed lines that arced towards her head. "Did you think we would come unprepared? You will not be harmed, we simply need-" She went still as the energy around Janet suddenly flashed green and vanished! A holographic dagger appeared in Janet's holographic hand. "Ah..."

"And you call _me_ rude. The _last_ person who tried to hold me like that was _Rasputin_." Janet's tone was almost conversational as the oddly shaped dagger in her hand glowed brighter and brighter. "I learned a few tricks since then. Nikis begged me not to kill either of you before the convocation. So I won't."

Both Elders were frozen as Janet stalked forward.

"But you will wish I _had!_ "


	10. Chapter 10

**Down**

Ari had finally managed to stop crying. She had been crying non-stop even when the monster from her memories that scared her so badly had growled at her to stop. Esther, Luioso and the other Grineer had been taken somewhere else, but Ari had been left in here. Wherever here was. Now, her stomach was rumbling, but she didn't eat normal food. How could she ask for what she needed?

She was exploring the corners of the small room when one wall opened and an androgynous figure in white robes stepped in. Ari stiffened as she saw the face concealed by a hologram. One of Amelia's Voices? Here? What was one of the humans who sought to aid others doing coming to see _her_?

"Your name is Ari." The Voice said and Ari nodded. "Do you require sustenance?"

"I am hungry." Ari admitted. "But my body was redesigned to need a special form of… of..."

Ari's glass eyes bulged as the Voice nodded and a piece of the ceiling in one corner of the room shifted a little. She gasped as energy she could feel swept down from it. She ran to the corner and stood under the fall of energy, aware that the Voice was watching her. She had to be under observation from others, but right this moment? She didn't care. She was so hungry. She simply stood and let the light fall into her glass body, letting the semi transparent material absorb the wavelengths as it had been designed to. The Orokin had always liked pretty things and she was, with no conceit, very pretty.

"When you need more, it will be provided." The Voice and when Ari had finally taken in her fill and moaned in pleasure. Ari jerked, she had half forgotten the other was present.

"Why?" Ari half begged as she shifted to one wall. It was only half a surprise when a couch slid out from it at just the right height for her to sit and be comfortable. Wherever she was, this place was built like an Orokin facility. Comfort above all.

"There is no need for cruelty here." The Voice nodded to Ari. " _You_ have not attacked anyone. You aided the Grineer that your colleagues collected to the best of your ability and the nanobots came from you, but you did not deliver them.."

"I will not betray my friends!" Ari declared defiantly.

"No one is asking you to." The Voice was still calm. "Indeed, no one will demand such. What you and your allies have done has triggered actions that may very well tear Tenno society apart." Ari stared at the Voice in horror, but the other was not done. "You and your allies were sequestered to keep you from launching an ill advised attack on the Citadel of the First. One that would have garnered a response, but _not_ the one that most of your allies hoped for. Rachel of the First is not a lightweight opponent. Few know of her or what she is capable of. Even Grandmaster Nikis himself said he walks carefully around her."

At the mention of that name, Ari stiffened. She couldn't help it. She couldn't move. She couldn't _breathe_! She couldn't see anything, hear anything. Her fear was eating her up and…

Something wafted through Ari from her hand. A hand that she suddenly realized was clasped in another, white gloved hand. She stared up into a face concealing hologram and then she sighed as her fear was eased somehow.

"He was right. You are terrified of him. Far more than you should be." The Voice sat beside Ari and an arm went around her. Ari fought for control, but it eluded her as she started to cry. Ari tried to talk, but the Voice gave her a hug and spoke again. "No, no. Don't try to talk just yet. Just breathe. In out, in out. Okay?"

Even with the vocal disguise, the kindness in the other's voice was a balm to Ari's tortured soul. She found herself sobbing softly as the other held her.

"No one blames you for fear, Ari." The Voice said gently. "No one. That being is terror made manifest. But this is personal. You encountered him before this?" Ari could not speak, she nodded instead. "But he did not kill you."

"He killed everyone else." Ari gasped. "I woke up and he was there among their bodies. I was so afraid, I didn't dare speak."

"No one would blame you for that." The Voice said dryly. "He terrifies everyone he meets casually. If you encountered him in _action_..." The hidden being's head shook. "Small wonder you have panic attacks."

"I don't know why!" Ari pleaded. "My master was cruel on occasion, but not overly so."

"Ari." The Voice said sternly. "You were born human and remade into this form. Do you remember who you were before?" Ari shook her head and the Voice heaved a sigh. "Perhaps that is for the best. The mind often protects itself from abuse in such ways. Oftentimes, whatever we see or feel is so intense that the mind literally shuts itself down to keep from seeing it. Sometimes, that reaction is terminal, others, it manifests as it does with you. In sheer, unadulterated panic."

"I hate him!" Ari said sharply. "I hate him! He destroyed everything! I hate him!"

"Ari." The Voice was still so gentle and kind. "No one blames you for reacting this way. Whatever he did tore your life apart. You served the Orokin." It was not a question, but Ari nodded anyway. "You did for them what you did to Anne." Ari looked away, her face closing. The Voice did not press, just held her as she shuddered. The Voice heaved another sigh. "I am not asking for secrets, Ari. I am trying to help."

"Why?" Ari demanded. "He will just kill me as he killed everyone else! It is what he does!"

"He might." The white garbed being allowed. "But even at his worst, he doesn't do it without reason. It may not be a sane reason by our standards, but he always has a reason. Ari, from what you have said, you have a right to anger, but pushing him is a death sentence. If I can help it, you will not interact with him at all. We need to scan you, make sure you are not dangerous."

"I am not!" Ari protested.

"Ari." The Voice chided her a little. "Anne is slowly turning into something like you." Ari stiffened and the Voice nodded. "How can you say you are not dangerous?"

"What?" Ari asked, her tone childlike even to her ears. "That is… No, that is not possible! I reset the-" She broke off suddenly, recoiling from the Voice who did not move. "No! If my nanobots are out of control… Get away from me!"

"You need the comfort." The Voice hugged her gently.

"No!" Ari begged. "If you stay close..." She gasped as she stared at the white gloved hand that had touched her. Now it glistened with glass. " _NO!_ " She screamed, trying to get away from the other, but the Voice did not let go.

"I am infected with your nanobots, yes." The Voice agreed. "And I know they will kill me."

"Or worse." Ari pleaded. "Let go. I can… No." She stiffened. "You want me to stop them so you know how to do it." She said flatly.

"We _know_ how to stop them, Ari. Doing so without killing the host is a bit more problematic." The Voice was still calm and gentle. "I volunteered to sit with you knowing you would likely infect me. You need the help and that is what Amelia's Voices do. Help."

"You… know?" Ari asked, confused. "But..."

"Ari." The Voice hugged her again. "You do not know why he killed your household." Ari shook her head, mystified. "He remembers doing such to an entire Orokin household once and only once. He explained. The only reason _you_ survived was because he thought you were a statue. He killed everyone else. Everyone who might have been infected. You were not because you had been changed before and the energy he used did not sense you. You are not, strictly speaking, alive in the most common sense of the word. Although you are very much a living person."

"He killed the servants, the Dax, _everyone_!" Ari snapped through sudden tears. "He killed babes and-" She broke off as the Voice put a finger to her lips.

"He killed everyone because they were infected with a specialized highly virulent biotech warfare agent." The Voice said quietly. "The entire household _and_ the tower that they lived in. He killed everyone in that place. He had to or it would have spread who knows how far. Maybe threatened the entire human race."

"What?" Ari sat, stunned out of her rage. The Voice hugged her again.

"Ari, you know firsthand what Orokin were capable of." The other held her as Ari started to sob again. "What they did to you was both wonder and horror, but they always had a purpose for whatever they did. They turned you into a walking, talking spy bot dispenser. They bioengineered something in that tower even worse and lost control of it." Ari hiccuped and stared at the Voice. "The only thing that could stop it..."

"Was him." Ari bowed her head, hugging the Voice as the hidden being hugged her.

"I am not denigrating your loss or trying to deny your fear." The Voice held her as Ari slumped even further. "You will take control of me. I know it."Ari stiffened and turned to stare at the hologram that hid the Voice's face. "I accept it. You need the help. I am here, Ari."

"I don't want to hurt you." Ari muttered. 'I don't want to hurt anyone. Not even… him." She couldn't bring herself to say the Nekros' name.

"I know." The Voice reassured her. "I am not going to lie. I am afraid. But this is the job."

"You willingly came in her, knowing I would hurt you?" Ari was stunned when the Voice nodded. "But..."

"You are scared and alone." The Voice said with a shrug. "We cannot let you out while you are secreting those things and yes, we knew that you would as soon as you fed."

"And you did it anyway?" Ari demanded. "Starvation won't kill me! I am not alive!"

"It would be cruel." The Voice repeated. "This is going to be bad enough as it is. There are many hotheads on both sides of this problem. Anne's mate made a formal complaint to the Tenno Elders. He hopes a formal convocation will head this confrontation off before it goes too far."

"That is noble, I guess." Ari swallowed.

"If even one of them denies his complaint, he is a dead man, Ari." The Voice explained and Ari stiffened all over again. "That is what the Tenno Code demands and before you ask, he knew that going in."

"Brave man." Ari said weakly. The Voice nodded. "I… I cannot betray my friends!"

"Ari, no one is asking you to." The Voice reassured her. "The problem is, one side is willing to talk. The other is not. The Caretakers do not want a fight. The First do not want a fight. The allies of both do not want a fight. But there are others who do."

"I was taught that fighting Infestation is what Tenno do." Ari said sternly.

"That is true." The Voice replied. "Indeed, that has been true since the very beginning, since before the rise of Orokin." Ari stared at the Voice who chuckled. "The knowledge is there, just hard to find. But let me ask you something. What is the point of fighting Technocyte Infestation?"

"What?" Ari demanded, stunned out of whatever she had been about to say. "Infestation is a horror. One of the worst horrors imaginable!"

"True." The Voice agreed. "But Infestation cannot be stopped without the expenditure of massive amounts of energy. The kind of energy that even Tenno have difficulty acquiring. There are cures available, but they only work on single people, they are far too difficult and time consuming to work on large groups. Infestation spreads so fast that it is virtually impossible to stop."

"And you ask what the point is?" Ari demanded and then she quailed. What if she angered this one kind person? Would the Voice leave her alone?

"I do." The Voice replied, not upset at all by Ari's sudden burst of temper. "Ari, Infestation cannot be stopped with the level of technology that now exists. Orokin itself couldn't stop the outbreaks of its time without aid from the Tenno. The Tenno knew that sooner or later, they would be overwhelmed by the sheer mass of biomatter thrown at them. So they set about trying to find another way."

"What do you-?" Ari started and then froze as the door opened again and her nightmare stalked in. Nikis was not happy.

"Stop!" The Voice commanded as she put herself between Ari and Nikis.

"What have you done?" Nikis snapped, his tone somewhere between sick and angry.

"She is terrified of you and you know why!" The Voice snarled. Ari stared at the form that stood between her and her nightmare. "You would have just left her in here! She doesn't deserve that! Now you can quarantine us both."

"Do you have any idea what the others are going to do to me?" Nikis demanded.

"She was alone, afraid and starving to death." The Voice did not back down even as Nikis took another step. "How could I just sit back and watch her fall apart?"

"No." Ari pleaded. "Don't..."

"It is okay, Ari." The Voice reassured the distraught glass woman. The the robed being rounded on Nikis who stood impassive. "She has a right to her anger. A right to her fear. She doesn't deserve to be alone. How long were you alone, Ari?" Ari could not look up. She could not look at the Voice without seeing the Nekros. A hand found hers and warmth spread again. She sighed in relief as her fear abated a little. "Easy, Ari. He won't hurt you. He can't right now. You are sequestered for the convocation and by the Code, he cannot harm you until that is done."

"You are awfully free with information that many would consider secret." Nikis said sourly.

"Neither of us is leaving this room alive, Grandmaster!" The Voice snapped, finally pushed beyond control. Ari froze and the Voice moderated. "Ari isn't alive and if needed, I will let her nanobots change me." At that, Nikis actually recoiled.

"No!" Ari begged. "No! Not for me. I am just..." She broke off as the Voice hugged her.

"You are a _sentient being_ who was traumatized." The Voice said softly. "What right have I to just sit back and watch you suffer if I can help?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone!" Ari begged. "Not even him." She nodded at Nikis, still not daring to look at him.

"That is because you are a good person, Ari." The Voice had a smile in his or her voice now. Said smile vanished. "That said, you don't have all of the information on who you were going to attack. Grandmaster, please leave."

"You know what your mom is gonna do." Nikis said slowly.

"She did the same." The Voice was still quiet. "Correct me if I am wrong, but… I was taught that any Tenno may champion a cause he or she finds just. My mom did that. This cause is just. Not her agenda or her assaults, but her. She deserves a chance, Grandmaster."

"What? Wait..." Ari stammered. "Voices give up their families." She stared at the Voice who nodded. "You are not a Voice?"

"He was just going to leave you in here to rot and starve." The Voice raised a hand to her face and touched the concealing hologram. "I asked. They said I could champion your cause as one of them. They would have sent one of their own, but this place is secret and well shielded. They couldn't get in. For the moment I am one of them, Ari. I swore to them while you were in here."

"Your oaths are in conflict." Nikis said slowly.

"Are they?" The Voice demanded. "Are they really?"

"Come out of here, girl." Nikis said with a snarl. "Don't make me- NO!" He declared as the Voice touched her face and the hologram fell away, showing a youthful face underneath it. "Mishka! No!"

"Mishka?" Ari said weakly as the pseudo Voice placed herself between Ari and Nikis. " _Caretaker_ Mishka?"

Why was one of her enemies _standing here_ between Ari and her nightmare. Why was she letting the glass woman's nanobots take control of her? Why was she suddenly singing a soft tune. Something that sounded sad. She quailed as Nikis seemed to swell in power and anger.

"Any Tenno can champion a cause she finds just." Mishka snapped, apparently unfazed by Nikis' sudden temper. "I find your treatment of Ari here to be unjust, cruel and unwarranted! I challenge!"

"You are out of your bloody mind." Nikis shook his head and his power faded.

"Am I?" Mishka retorted. "So starving a sentient being is not only warranted, it should be done simply because she isn't human? Why not starve _me_?" She snapped.

"Mishka, you are not an Orokin spy device." Nikis argued reasonably. "Come away."

"No." Mishka laid her arms around Ari who was trembling. "She deserves better. Everyone is so focused on their own rage, their own agendas. She may be a threat, Nikis, but if we ignore basic courtesy because it is expedient, what does that make us?"

"Orokin." A new voice sounded as a female form appeared behind Nikis. Ari quailed as a woman in a golden gown moved past him to stand looking at Mishka and Ari. "It would make you like the Orokin. And I for one, refuse to act like my relatives."

"Michelle! No!" Nikis started forward, only to jerk up short with a groan as the woman joined the embrace. "You silly women! Your moms are gonna _flay_ me!"

"Get out, Grandmaster." The newcomer said flatly as Ari quailed even further. "She needs time and care. We will give that to her."

To Ari's stunned amazement, Nikis turned and stalked out. The door sealed behind him. She stared at the door and then at the newcomer who smiled a little sadly.

"Mishka is right. You deserve better." She nodded to Ari. "My name is Michelle."

"Who are you that you can order that Tenno to leave?" Ari asked, confused.

"Technically, I didn't." Michelle shrugged as she helped Mishka lift Ari and lead her to the couch. "But he is going to have a hard time explaining this to my mom and he knew it even if he didn't use force to remove me."

"Who is your mom?" Ari asked as she sat when directed to. Michelle sat on one side, Mishka on the other.

"The Empress of Orokin."


	11. Chapter 11

**Good?**

"Emp-" Ari shook her head savagely. "You lie."

It was hard to be angry with these two who had just defied the Grandmaster of the Dead to stay with her. The fake Voice, Mishka hugged her again. Or was she fake? Ari couldn't pretend to understand this. It had to be some kind of trick.

"No, I don't." The golden gowned dark haired woman who sat beside Ari said with a nod, not fazed at all by Ari's shift in mood. "And I can prove it." She smiled at the glass woman as Ari stared at her. "See?"

She showed Ari her hand which had been touching the glass woman's bare arm. It should have been covered by what looked like glass fragments by now like Mishka's gloved hands were. It wasn't. It was bare flesh and blood, but unmarred by any of Ari's signature ability.

"That just proves you have military grade nanobots in your body." Ari replied, still reeling from all of this. She went totally still as Michelle's hand slowly cupped her cheek and she felt… "Oh my god!" She panted as raw pleasure surged through her.

"Military grade nanobots? Yes. I have those." Michelle shook her head sadly as she retracted her hand. "But how many people would have the knowledge of what you are and how you were made? Intelligence keeps track of assets like you, Ari. Or should I say, _Ariana_?"

Ari felt every ounce of her breath leave, both in shock and fear. Said fear was similar to what the Nekros had awakened in her. _No one_ knew her old name. But if this Michelle _did_ … Then she likely knew more. Like the codes to take all volition from her. The Orokin had always liked being in control. The things they had forced her to do churned her stomach even now.

"No." Ari begged. "No, please. Don't take control of me. Please!" She begged. Mishka hugged her again and Michelle laid her hand on Ari's trembling one, her warm human flesh soothing to the terrified glass woman.

"I won't." Michelle promised. She looked away. "Such power my ancestors and relatives wielded. They did so many marvelous things. And so many _horrific_ things." She gave Ari's hand a squeeze. "You _are_ beautiful. I have to admit that."

Something in her voice called to Ari. A memory of kindness. A memory of a life she had lost. Of friends in similar attire. Of people she had loved with all of her heart. She bowed her head and spoke from that suddenly straining heart.

"Thank you. I… If you are Orokin." Ari said weakly. "Then I am yours." She was not expecting Michelle to suddenly jump up and retreat to the wall. Ari stared at the golden gowned woman as Michelle's face went blank. She cringed and Mishka hugged her again. "Have I given offense?"

"Yes, but through no fault of your own. I am not going to hurt you." Michelle said in a suddenly flat tone. "And no. I do not care what my esteemed relatives might have said. You are _not_ property. I say that and I know my mother will agree."

"But..." Ari stammered, confused.

"Ari, you were made to serve Orokin." Michelle said quietly. "I know that. I know you have been alone far too long and you suddenly find your oaths twisted, your way hard to follow. You are confused. I am not going to take volition from you. The only reason I _might_ is if you were a threat to humans who are not affiliated with the Caretakers. You are not."

"But I want it!" Ari's sudden outburst shamed her and she wilted. Michelle slumped where she stood. "I… I..."

"No, you don't." Michelle said sadly. "That is the conditioning talking. Not you. You may think you want the certainty, the ease of having someone else be responsible for anything and everything you do. But you don't. I have barely met you and I know that. No matter what you _were_ , _now_ you are not a slave, Ari. I refuse to take you as one because you would not be happy as one no matter what your conditioning tells you." She made a face. "Not to mention, I find the whole idea _barbaric_."

"But you are _Orokin!_ " Ari pleaded.

"That doesn't make me a goddess, Ari." Michelle said sternly. "Yes, I am a princess. That is _all_. I am no better or worse than you. I have a job and I do my job to the best of my ability. The perks are kind of nice at times, but let me tell you, the responsibilities can bite, hard."

"They got you killed once." Mishka said quietly. Ari was too drained to even flinch as the woman in white rubbed her arm.

"I got better." Michelle said dryly. "And when Guardians of the Dead fight? The terms 'alive' and 'dead' lose a lot of meaning." Ari stared at her in horror and Michelle unbent a little. "My father tried take control of the last surviving pocket of Orokin society. He failed." She shrugged. "It was a mess and I still have nightmares about it, but I am alive. My mother is alive. He isn't. In my book, that makes it all good."

"I don't understand." Ari said weakly as Mishka hugged her again. "You… She..." The distraught female turned to look at Mishka who nodded sadly. "You are a Caretaker."

"I am." Mishka agreed.

"Then why help me?" Ari demanded. "Are you trying to turn me or something?"

"I won't say the thought didn't cross my mind." Mishka admitted. "We worked very hard to keep from fighting Tenno. We have been attacked, multiple times and we always flee rather than fighting." Ari stared at her and Mishka shook her had. "They won't let me into the field for fear of that. I am a juicy target for that _and_ for my father." Bitterness rang in her voice, but it was quickly squelched.

"Mishka." Michelle said quietly, but Mishka shook her head.

"She could take control of me right now." Mishka said with a shrug. "She hasn't. I bet she won't. She knows a hostage won't help her here. Don't you, Ari?"

"If _he_ is outside, then no." Ari slumped a bit. "I don't want to. I didn't mean to infect you." She begged Mishka who sighed and hugged her again. "I swear I didn't."

"I know." Mishka shook her head. "The things is, Ari, we cannot talk to people. They won't listen to us. We are Unclean. Different. Evil." She bowed her head with each word as Ari stared at her. "Maybe we are. I don't know. But we do not want to fight other Tenno, Ari. We don't. We are obeying orders that date back to the founding of Orokin, Ari. I can no more break that oath than _you_ can turn back into a human."

"So, what?" Ari asked. "What can I do? I am a prisoner here. I am probably going to die when the others push him too far." She still couldn't say Nikis' name.

"I want to talk with you."Mishka said quietly. "I want to explain what we are and what we do. You don't have to believe me, but I want to try and explain. I do not want to fight Tenno, Ari and I fear that is where this is going. Maybe I can't stop it, but I want to try."

"I… I guess I can listen." Ari relaxed for the first time since Nikis had entered. "I cannot promise anything. I am what I am, not a Tenno or a leader." She paused and then a weak smile crossed her face. "And I seem to be a captive audience."

Mishka and Michelle laughed a little at that. Michelle stepped back and sat down beside Ari again, taking the glass woman's hands in her own as Mishka hugged Ari again.

"Then let me tell you a story." Mishka said with a sad smile.

"It is about a very brave Tenno named Dustin who had a _horrible_ job..."

* * *

Nearby

"You know she won't actually hurt you."

Janet wasn't physically present. She couldn't leave Titan's seas now. That didn't slow the incredibly powerful psi down much if at all. Her projection forms could go just about anywhere and with her telepathy and telekinesis, it was just like her being there physically. The room was small and had only one door. It wasn't meant for comfort.

"Which?" Nikis growled as he glared at a screen. It showed Michelle and Mishka talking to Ari. Another screen showed Mitchell sleeping. Yet another showed Ara working in a lab with _two_ shades keeping their eyes on her as she examined Esther and the captive Tenno's warframe. Jesse was sleeping on another screen with Draco standing between her and the door. The captive Grineer were shown sitting quietly in another cell.

"Both. Eliza knows about the good of the many _and_ the need to not become what you fight. Iriana knows her daughter, Nikis." Janet reassured her mate. "She knows how hard it is for Mishka to walk by when someone is in pain. Her asking the Voices for help was unexpected, but I can see the appeal. She would probably like to vanish as thoroughly as Sara and Lis did."

"Stupid fools trying to punish her for who her father is." Nikis growled but his heart wasn't in it. "Like she had any power over _that_."

"And is it your experience that died in the wool idiots have great powers of logic or even a smattering of common sense?" Janet asked with a grin. Nikis snarled at her, but his heart wasn't in it. "Nikis..."

"You know how many ways this can go bad." Nikis sighed, trying to relax. "At least you didn't kill the Elders and I _never_ thought I would be happy to say such."

"I was very tempted." Janet admitted. "It was far too much like when Rasputin held me." Her projection shivered a little. "I am not over that. Even with therapy and talking to as many people as I can, I don't know if I will ever be. They thought to hold me or program me, Nikis. They had Orokin tech designed for such."

" _Those_ two won't make that mistake again." Nikis said dryly. "They recover yet?"

"A couple of hours ago." Janet shrugged as Nikis looked at her. "I was mad, but not murderous."

"Killing them might have been kinder." Nikis chuckled evilly. "Then again, the next time someone tries that, all you will likely have to say is 'Do you have diapers handy?'. Anyone sane will shut up and run." Janet glared at him and he shrugged. "Hell, _I_ would."

"Whatever." Janet faked nonchalance, but her mouth's corners were turning up. "It was fun, watching them try to stop it."

"Only _you_ would do something that nasty to someone, dear heart." Nikis had a smile in his voice now. "I mean, I _shoot_ people. Making their bodies lose complete control of all those bodily functions is just _wrong_."

"Oh?" Janet asked, a steely glint in her eye now. "And the guards _you_ make wet themselves in the colonies? What are they?"

"Positive reinforcement." Nikis replied with aplomb.

"And you call _me_ bad." Janet snickered a little but then sobered. "Nikis… The Caretakers have asked if I can protect Dustin and Mikey." Nikis looked at her and she bowed her head. "They fear what will happen if either side loses control of the most fervent. I really expected Aeron to shoot first. I really did."

"Me too." Nikis said in a monotone. "I expected the nuts under the Plains to fight. My reputation helps with some things. But that glass girl..." Nikis shook his head. "I didn't have a choice with what I did that scared her so badly, Janet."

"I know that, Nikis." Janet shrugged. "You only get the worst jobs." Nikis had no response to that so he turned back to the screen. He stiffened as he saw Ara finishing. "Is it time?" Janet asked.

"Yeah." Nikis growled. "Time to find out if Mitchell lives or dies."

Without another word, he strode towards the door to the room. Janet followed, as silent as he was. Just outside an arsenal array that looked ancient stood. It could have been lifted right out of a Tenno Orbiter and for all Janet knew, it had been. Nikis strode to the array and turned his back as he slotted into it. A flash of light and the Nekros that Janet knew best had changed. It was still a skeletal form with ribbons coming down from places, but the it looked far more than that. It was golden in places, so it was a prime, but it was also more spiky and frightening looking. It looked as if it had been designed specifically to frighten people, and maybe it had. Janet knew that Nikis had one hell of a sick sense of humor. She did not react as his normal pistols were replaced with paired Magnus revolvers that were golden. Primes as well. The shotgun that appeared on his back was odd looking. Not Orokin or even Tenno looking. It looked archaic, with an actual slide mechanism. She stared at it as Nikis drew the weapon to check it. It clicked as he worked the action.

"What is that?" Janet asked. "I have never seen that kind of weapon before."

"You wouldn't have." Nikis said absently as he worked the slide again and again until he was satisfied with it. "This is a relic, but it still works. One of a kind." He turned the weapon so Janet could see the side of it.

On the side was marked 'Protecta, Property of Lasria Army 2001'. Janet stared at that for a long moment before realization struck.

"Nikis..." Janet said weakly. "Is _that_ …?"

"Hayden's shotgun." Nikis said quietly. "Yeah, it is. He got it in Lasria during the mess there, carried it throughout the whole fight. When he passed into the database, he gave it to me."

"And it still _works_?" Janet asked, awed. That weapon was older than _Orokin_.

"Mag and Hayden played with it a lot." Nikis hefted the ancient weapon with a sigh. "Yeah, it still works. Even a prime Tigris would have difficulty matching this weapon for sheer damage. Hayden used this weapon to kill the last of the ones who tried to split from his authority. Who tried to splinter our family. If I have to, I will do what he did." He holstered the shotgun and a Glaive spun into life from his hand. There was no flash. He hadn't pulled it from the arsenal. Had he held it all along? "I don't want to do this!" He pleaded.

He wasn't talking to Janet!

"I know, old friend." Hayden's voice preceded the shade into view. Janet gave the First Tenno a nod that he returned. "But if you don't, who will? Ara is done with her examinations." Nikis looked at him and Hayden shook his head. "She didn't step out of line."

"Or whatever she did was impossible to see." Nikis groused.

"You know she never lied to us, Nikis." Hayden was quiet, sad.

"I know." Nikis sighed and slumped. "I know you and Nyx say she never betrayed us, but it feels that way. It really does."

"You need her, Nikis." Hayden was still quiet, but his tone held command. "Trusting her is not required, but you know you need her."

"Yeah." The Glaive vanished from Nikis' hand. It didn't sheathe itself, it simply vanished. "I am not ambivalent."

"You want to declare _her_ a judge?" Janet demanded, her face going slack with shock. "She is a murderer!"

"So was _I_ , Janet." Hayden was still quiet. "That was what I did, both before Lasria and after I became what I did. I killed people. Some deserved it. Some didn't. At first because of orders, then because they attacked me and mine. Ara is loyal to the Tenno. No one else."

"I am involved, Janet." Nikis shook his head. "I cannot be ambivalent in something that will hurt Dustin's mate and son."

He paused as if to say more but did not. Janet eyed him and nodded just a little. She knew part of his son still existed, but no one else could know that. Hayden nodded as well. Some secrets had to be kept. The fact that Dustin had survived in some way the horrible episode that had destroyed his body and torn Jasmina from the Tenno as a whole was something that no one would believe. Least of all that _Infested_ had done it because they loved him.

"I..." Janet shook her head. "What she did was wrong."

"Yes." Hayden and Nikis both chorused. They eyed one another and Janet had to bite back a giggle.

"Can we keep her from doing it again?" Janet asked. "If so, then yes. I can see being unemotional as an asset in this."

"We can." Nikis said with a growl.

"Then I guess we better get on with this." Janet shook her head. "Is this a Tenno matter or can I stand with you?" She asked Nikis.

"It is a Tenno matter, but humans are going to be affected no matter what." Nikis shrugged. "Mitchell, the humans who are part of the Caretakers' band, so many others who have been helped by Jasmina and her brood, others across the system will feel the effects." He looked at Hayden who nodded.

"We may not be human, but we came from them." Hayden Tenno said formally. "We must remember who and what we are."

A door opened ahead and Ara stepped out, followed by Esther who was bristling. She came to a sudden stop as she saw Nikis, Janet and Hayden eyeing her. Two shades followed her out, an Oberon and a Trinity.

"Am I to die then?" Esther demanded. Her Gara warframe all but quivering in her rage.

"That depends on you." Nikis said in a level tone. "Ara? Status?"

"All of the scans I can do are done." The oddly shaped warframe nodded to Hayden first and then to Nikis. "I found no abnormalities except for traces of the nanobots. I still need to scan this Ari."

" _No!_ " Esther tensed to move, only to freeze as Nikis's shotgun appeared in his hands. There was no way he could miss at this range. "You will _kill_ her!"

No one moved. Janet was the one who broke the sudden tableau.

"Yeah. The only one allowed to kill her is _you_."


	12. Chapter 12

**Shatter**

"What?" Esther demanded. "I never hurt her."

"That is not true." Janet said flatly. Everyone stared at her and she shook her head. "Ara needs to examine Ari gently. Carefully. Now that Ara has been fed, she is secreting her nanobots uncontrollably. She needs help to learn to control creation of them. If she can." Esther stiffened and Janet nodded. "Yeah. I know what you did. She doesn't. _Yet_."

"Ah, Janet?" Nikis asked, concerned. Janet was glowing. Never a good sign.

"The needs of the many." Janet said with a growl worthy of her mate. "That girl is a marvel. Beautiful and so fragile, like the glass she seems to be. I didn't understand. I didn't see until Mishka jerked us all up short. Then I _had_ to understand, so I sought visions of what happened to Ari. I saw it all. I understand now." She drew her dagger and it flashed green. "If you _ever_ touch that girl again, Tenno Esther, I _will_ kill you!"

Not a threat. A solemn, sworn promise. Projection or no, even without her dagger, she _could_ kill Tenno and everyone knew it.

"What am I missing?" Ara asked when no one else spoke.

"Ari was created as an Orokin spy device from the body of a human slave." Janet said as she eyed Esther who had frozen under the gazes of everyone else. "She does not remember her life before, but the life she had after that was a good one as far as such things went. She was a slave, true. But she was treated well and did her duties to her master as best she could. She was supposedly a modified servant, one who mingled with guests. While she did that, her nanobots infected them to search out secrets for her master. It was what she did. She had no control over the nanobots, her master did."

"What?" Esther wasn't faking the sudden tension that erupted from her word. Not a chance.

"You _knew!_ " Janet shouted that. "You _knew_ and you _starved_ her! You lousy evil little..."

"That was the only way to..." Whatever else Esther was going to say was cut off as Janet made a slashing motion with one hand and Esther flew back to hit the wall with a loud thud.

"You never told Sun what you wanted the information for!" Janet all but screamed. "He _never_ would have agreed to that!"

"He would have wanted her for himself!" Esther was on her feet, power flaring around her hands as Ara dove to the side. Nikis had his shotgun in hand, but all three of the shades retreated from the Oracle's wrath.

" _He_ would have been able to _help_ her, you _stupid bitch!_ " Janet _did_ scream that. "All you and your sycophants saw was a _weapon_! Something to hurt the Caretakers! Who _cares_ what it does to that poor girl! Who _cares_?" Her dagger was up now. " _I_ care. You will _never_ touch her again!"

"Oracle?" Ara stood up slowly, careful to stay out of the area between Esther and Janet. "Is the girl a danger?"

"No." Janet's rage vanished suddenly, leaving sorrow in its wake. "Her nanobots will die when she does."

"What?" Esther asked, her voice suddenly tiny. The Oracle snarled at her, her rage kindled anew.

"What the _hell_ do you care?" Janet demanded. "You got your war! You got your fight with the Caretakers! All it cost was an innocent girl's _life_. What the hell do Tenno care about such?"

"Oracle." Ara said slowly. "Is there no chance for her?"

"I don't know." Janet admitted. "I _do_ know that her creators worried about shock and stress. They also worried about non-monitored release of nanobots using up all of her vital energy. She was near death when she arrived here. She never felt it, never realized how close she was to the edge. After everything else the Orokin did to her, at least they were kind in that. She wouldn't have suffered. She has been fed, and now she has no control over the release of her nanobots."

"What have you _done_ to her?" Esther demanded, only to go flying again. She hit the wall again.

" _We_ kept her alive where _you_ tried to kill her." Janet snapped, her hand still up and glowing with power. "Or did you think she enjoyed being starved? That she would survive it because she wasn't human?" She growled. "Did you _bother_ to see if what you did hurt her? No. Not your problem."

"I helped her." Esther said slowly and then screamed as Janet clenched a fist and psionic power grabbed her and held her off the ground. "I like her! She is my friend!"

"A friend you _abused!_ " Janet snarled. _Everyone_ took a step back as the glow around her glare burned brighter. Then Ara shook her head and stepped forward.

"Oracle." Ara said softly. "What are you saying?" Janet growled at her, but the Tenno was unfazed. "I need more information. I think the girl will be needed in this."

Janet stared at the cold Tenno and then her hand fell. Esther fell to the floor, gasping as the pain faded.

"She will be." Janet said quietly. "If she survives what this fool did to her."

"I helped her!" Esther said savagely, caution forgotten in her rage. "She was lost, crying and alone when I found her. She needed help! I gave it!"

"And you never asked _why_ she suddenly followed you around like a lost puppy." Janet snapped. Esther stared at her, dumbfounded and Janet relented a little. "She was a _slave_ , Tenno Esther! She knew no other way. So you fed her. Not enough to thrive on, just enough to keep her alive. Suddenly, for the first time in _centuries_ she had a source of power that made her feel good. Someone to talk to for the first time in who knows how long. And what did you do? You hurt her."

"I didn't!" Esther was shaking her head in denial. "I never used her! I only touched her when she was hurting. I tried to comfort her."

"No, you never did _that_." Janet snapped. "Because while she _looks_ aesthetically like a pretty human female, she _isn't_ one. Instead, you used her nanobots. If you manage to survive this mess, Grandmaster Sun is _going_ to have words with you about spying on other Tenno." Esther wilted a little at that.

"Where is Sun?" Nikis asked suddenly. "I half expected him to show up for this."

"I don't know." Janet admitted. "He can hide from my sight as well as Stalker can. I _hope_ he is not trying to find Ess. That would not end well."

Ara and Esther stared as both Nikis and Janet shared a wince with Hayden and the other two shades.

"What is wrong with Ari?" Esther demanded. "I didn't hurt her!" Janet raised her hand again, but now, Ara stepped between them.

"She believes that, Oracle Janet." Ara said quietly. "She truly cares for her friend. You are emotional."

"I know I am not ambivalent." Janet said slowly. "They threaten the lives of my friends. But what I saw turned my stomach. I have lost two daughters and that girl's predicament tugs at my heartstrings."

"I never touched her inappropriately!" Esther pleaded.

"No." Janet bit the word out. " _You_ didn't. Some of her master's 'guests' did for their own sick amusement. Did she ever tell you about that?" Esther shook her head, stunned. "And what was worse? They tried to make her _enjoy_ such things. They couldn't. She wasn't physically capable. But they did warp her enough that her master performed a mindwipe. It didn't quite take so he was going to do it again." Esther gasped and Janet nodded. "That is why she was so still when Nikis was called in to cleanse the place. She had been ordered to sleep after her master found her crying in corner. He _was_ kind to her."

"Wondered about that." Nikis mused. "So… Is she in danger, Janet?"

"Yes." Janet slumped, her anger fading completely as Esther gave a tiny sob. "And to top that off, she was fighting with everything she had not to hurt anyone. And guess what _you_ made her do?" She demanded of the suddenly petrified Tenno.

"No." Esther begged.

"You made her kill!" Janet snapped. "She has _killed_ Anne. You know it!"

"I didn't!" Esther said just as savagely. "She told me it could be stopped!"

"By who?" Janet demanded as Esther stared at her. "By _who_?" She snapped, patience gone. "Who can stop Ari's nanobots?"

"The First can." Esther said slowly. She stiffened anew as everyone in the hall but her shook their heads. "She said the First can!"

"What she _said_ , Tenno Esther..." Janet said slowly and precisely. "… was that she _thought_ the First could. They cannot. She has killed Anne. Well done, Tenno. Way to corrupt a _innocent_ for your needs. Stalker would be very proud of you."

"No." Esther said softly. "The Caretakers… _They_ did this! They did something to the human. Something that can be stopped."

"You don't get it." Janet said sadly. "The Caretakers _saved_ Anne's _life_. She was suffering from progressive neural shock. You know what that means, Tenno. No one else could treat it. Iriana tried. So many others tried. They all failed. She was fading, slowly but surely." The Oracle snarled and Esther swallowed hard. "She was a soldier, not a Tenno. She doesn't have your training or your ability to shift meat forms. But she was _available_ so you attacked her. Ari tried to tell you many times. But you just _had_ to kill the Caretakers. Well done."

"They are Infested!" Esther said sternly. "Killing Infested is what Tenno do!"

"We tell you and you do not believe." Janet said mildly. "Tenno Ara is new to this time, but she is an expert on Technocyte infections. Tenno Ara, is Mitchell Infested?"

"No." The other female in the hall said firmly. Esther stared from her to Janet and back. "He has an organic device implanted in his skull, but he shows no signs of Technocyte infestation otherwise."

"And what happens if he is disconnected from that device?" Janet asked relentlessly.

"The feedback will kill him." Ara was still on firm ground.

"And what does the device connect to?" Janet asked.

"Unknown at this time." Ara replied. "It is not any form of technology I am familiar with. The signals it sends and receives are not any kind of communication I understand." Janet and Nikis looked at one another and then Nikis nodded.

"We need to call them in anyway." Nikis sighed. "Guess we can ask if they want to present a defense. Not that some would listen, but hey, we can try."

"You know what the others will do." Janet protested. "Same as this one would. Kill Infested whether they are hostile or not." She glared at Esther who met her glare with one of equal intensity.

"All Infested are hostile!" Esther snarled, only to have Nikis, Janet _and Hayden_ all laugh at her. "What?" She demanded.

"Might want to check your assumptions at the door, girl. It will hurt less." Hayden said with a grunt. "I will be around. Jun, Kor, stay with Ara." With that, Hayden vanished.

"All Infested are hostile!" Esther declared. Nikis and Janet looked at one another and then shared a sigh. "You know this."

"What I _know_ is that nothing we say is gonna change your mind." Nikis shrugged as Janet glowered at Esther. "There was time I thought the same. But despite what some say about me, I _do_ try to keep an open mind most of the time. If I didn't, you and yours would be dead for threatening my grand kid. You don't threaten my kin, brat. _Ever_." This last was cold and hard. The temperature in the corridor seemed to plummet.

"He would have survived." Esther said into the sudden cold.

"Sure." Nikis waved a negligent hand. "You have power over ricochets and where shrapnel goes in explosions. Sure you do. _I_ don't." His voice was snide now. "You were gonna send in an assault of controlled Grineer but of course, since you control them, they will have better fire discipline than Grineer usually have. They won't throw grenades and rockets around willy nilly. Because you are _special_ and the normal rules of physics and war don't _apply_ to you." The sarcasm in his voice could have cut a diamond in half.

"We wouldn't have hurt him!" Esther snapped.

"Bullshit." Nikis sounded _bored_ now. "Lie to yourself all you want. Lie to _me_ and I will call you on it. You don't _care_ who you kill as long as you kill your targets."

"She does seem to care about Ari, Nikis." Janet said sadly "Maybe there is hope for her."

"Ari is not dead!" Esther said savagely. "I can..." She broke off as Nikis and Janet both glared at her.

"You can stand in front of the Elders and watch as they pronounce their judgment." Nikis said sternly. "And yes, I think this is fair. If they judge Mitchell needs to die, _you_ get to do it. Yourself." Esther recoiled but Nikis wasn't done. "Tenno are killers, it is what we are, what we do. Shouldn't be a problem for someone like you, killing an _unarmed_ , _defenseless_ human."

At that, Esther flinched back. Small wonder. Such an insult was almost unbearable. Tenno prided themselves on their ability to defeat opponents, but they chose worthy ones. In battle, there were only the victors and the slain, but out of it? Tenno who used warframes were Warriors, not wanton murderers. To imply that one was only good for killing a defenseless opponent? Ouch.

"I won't." Esther snapped. To her credit, she did not flinch as Nikis' right hand pistol simply appeared in his hand, aimed at her.

"You want to kill Caretakers." Nikis snarled. "Fine. If it comes to that? It won't be in battle. There is no honor or glory to be found here. They probably won't resist if it comes to it. And do you know why?" He demanded. Esther shook her head. "Because unlike _some_ , _they_ do not want a schism. _They honor the Code!_ "

This last was a very quiet scream.

"They are not Tenno!" Esther snapped, facing Nikis' pistol with admirable calm.

" _You_ do not get to decide that." Nikis' tone was downright frightening now. Cold, calm, matter of fact. Ara bowed to him and then nodded, placing herself so she was out of his line of fire as she looked at Esther as if the other female were some kind of bug. "The Elders who are so loud in their silly denunciations do not get to decide that. You who do not wish to follow the Code declare _them_ anathema?" Nikis chuckled, a dark and terrible sound. "Hypocrite much?"

"If you are going to kill me, do it." Esther said flatly. "I am done being afraid."

"Me?" Nikis laughed as he holstered his pistol. "Oh no. I won't kill you. I have a better idea. Tenno, witness." Ara bowed her head and clasped her hand in front of her. Both shades did likewise. "I declare this convocation open as of this moment and Tenno Esther the designated _executioner_ for it."

"What?" Esther staggered as if in shock.

"You want to kill people?" Nikis demanded. "So be it. Whoever the Elders as a whole decide must die will fall to _your_ blade. Whether it be Mitchell, the Caretakers, Ari, your tame Grineer or even _yourself_ , you _will_ carry out the decision of the convocation. You _will_ kill them in cold blood."

" _You cannot do that!_ " Esther screamed.

"Wanna bet?" Nikis had ice in his tone now. "We are ready, Nyx."

Everything seemed to stop as another shade appeared in the corridor. The Nyx Prime warframe hefted a massive two handed ax. A Scindo Prime, an Orokin executioner's weapon. She lowered it to the floor and its points embedded in the floor in front of Esther, the handle sticking straight up. Esther stared at it as a cobra might a mongoose.

"I won't." Esther tried to back away from the battleaxe, but her feet skidded on the floor as Nyx let go of the handle and it glowed, power arcing from it to Esther who screamed again, this time in pain. "No! I _won't_!" She fought the energy, but then screamed louder as it wrapped around her in implacable golden coils. Her screams choked off in unintelligible gurgles.

"Yes, you will." Ara's voice was soft and sad as she looked at Nyx who nodded to her. "This seems cruel, Nikis."

"This whole _thing_ is cruel, Ara." Nikis said heavily. "But I can't be the executioner and neither can you. I am chair and you are lead forensic specialist. She wants to kill, so let her."

"Nikis." Janet said softly as Esther's body slowly relaxed, the power seeping into her. Binding her to her role. She wasn't under control, per say. Simply bound tighter to the Tenno Code by Nyx's power. "Ara needs to examine the girl."

"Gently, Ara." Nikis' words were a command and Ara nodded. "I will go start the folderol. I bet it will take an hour or so to get the ceremonial claptrap out of the way. Then the fools get to start blabbing."

Ara moved to the door that Ari, Michelle and Mishka were behind and paused, looking at Esther who was moaning softly now. Nikis stalked away, muttering to himself.

"What did she do, Oracle?" Ara asked. "Your rage seems excessive for the amount of information I have."

"She gave Ari just enough of her own energy that the girl wouldn't starve to death." Janet said in a flat voice. "Never enough to fully sate Ari's hunger, and never enough for Ari to feel free. She basically enslaved Ari all over again. What was worse? The frequency was wrong. Do me a favor?" She asked the female Tenno who stared at her. "Check Ari's form for microfractures. I fear they will be spreading."

"Micro- what?" Esther gasped. "What are you saying?" She shook her head, and then stared at the ax in her hand. "What have you _done_?" She snapped as she tried to drop the ax and could not.

"Until this is over, the only people you will be able to kill are the ones the chair of the convocation tells you to kill." Nyx said in a very soft voice. "You will be able to holster that, but you won't be able to swing the ax at anyone else. I recommend you do not try. You also will not be able to drop that. It will only allow itself to be either holstered or in hand, it won't go anywhere else."

"Why?" Esther demanded of Janet as Nyx vanished. "Why me?"

"Because you have likely killed an innocent. The energy you gave Ari wasn't quite right for her." Janet said just as quietly as Nyx had spoken. "It was just enough out of tune that the damage wasn't readily apparent."

"Damage?" Esther tried to drop the ax, but it seemed stuck to her hand.

"What happens to glass when it is hit by a shock?" Janet asked. Esther just stared at her and Janet sighed. "Your energy hurt her on the molecular level, shattered some of the the molecular bonds. I fear the damage is spreading. I don't think it is anything we can fix. Ara, please be gentle."

Ara bowed to the Oracle and entered the room, the shades following her.

"I… I didn't." Esther said weakly as she lowered the ax to the floor, still trying to remove it from her hand. It wouldn't come off. "I didn't!"

"Why would you care?" Janet asked. "You got what you wanted. A shot at the Caretakers. Who cares who else dies in the process?"

"How do I know you are not lying?" Esther demanded, still trying to get rid of the ax. She went still as Janet sighed.

"I wish I was. She seems a good kid."


	13. Chapter 13

**Updates will be sporadic for a while. New job is taking a lot of time and effort.**

* * *

 **Fragile**

Anne felt good. She shouldn't, she knew that. She should be afraid, be hurting, be something.

She wasn't.

Everything was gray now. She was no longer in Cetus, she knew that. Kollette was gone. Brianna was here, but when Anne looked again, the medic was gone. Iriana was there, but when Anne blinked, the Healer was gone. Anne was lying on a bed in a small room and she was numb. She stared down at her arm and swallowed hard as she saw her fingers… She saw _through_ her fingers. They were transparent now. They moved as they should when she willed them to, but it was all wrong. It was pretty in an odd sort of way, a pale golden color inside the glass made it shimmer in the light. It felt right and proper, but she knew it was wrong.

"Ma'am?" A tremulous voice sounded and Anne's gaze was pulled to a wall that opened to a door. She stared at what entered. It looked like a young human woman, but she was made of glass! Glass of the exact same gold color as Anne's arm! "I am sorry."

Rage should have come. Or sorrow. Or something. Anne felt nothing.

"You are the same as my arm." Anne asked, amazed at how clear her voice was. "Did you do this?"

"I am responsible." The glass woman said weakly. "They took my nanobots and hurt you with them. I am sorry."

"That is not what I asked." Anne said quietly. "Did you do this?" She held up her transformed hand and the glass woman seemed about to cry. She sighed. "My name is Anne. What is your name?"

"Ari. My name is Ari. I provided the means." The glass girl said weakly. "I had to apologize. I didn't..." She broke off as Anne sat up and patted the bunk beside her. "Ma'am?"

"Come here." Anne said with a sigh as she felt weariness rise through her. Her emotions came, but no anger. Sadness. Ari stepped forward slowly as if she were afraid of being beaten. A Tenno that Anne did not know stepped into the room, followed by two golden shades. Anne did not know them. The two who followed those however, Anne did know! "Michelle? Mishka?"

"Hello Anne." Michelle, Princess of Orokin, had been crying, but her smile was bright. Mishka wore Tenno robes now instead of the robes of Amelia's Voices. So Anne had missed some while she slept. Not surprising.

"You shouldn't be in here." Anne protested. "None of you should."

"You cannot infect me." Ari said weakly. "I am not secreting them now. The others? Michelle and Tenno Ara here are protected. Mishka..." Her voice cracked as she looked at Mishka who stepped forward and hugged her.

"Mishka is _crazy_." Anne's voice was dry, but her smile was genuine. A smile that Ari slowly shared. Said smile vanished as soon as it appeared.

"I am glad I am not the only one who thinks that." Ari slumped as Mishka led her towards the bunk. "I had to apologize."

"We all knew something was coming." Anne said quietly as she patted the bunk beside her again, Mishka led Ari there and eased her to sit. "Something bad. We bother people. I know it. Mishka knows it. Every one of us knows it." She shook her head. "Do I need to be scanned?" She asked the Tenno who shook her head.

"We scanned you while you slept." The Tenno in the warframe shrugged. "The nanobots are self contained and will destruct explosively if we try to hack them. There is nothing we can do."

Ari gave a sob, and Anne laid her flesh and blood arm around the crying glass girl.

"I told them!" Ari said between her sobs. "I _told_ them I didn't know what I was doing! I pleaded with them. I thought the First could help you." She hiccuped as Anne pulled her close and cradled the crying girl gently. "I am _sorry_!"

"So am I." Anne sighed as she rubbed Ari's glass hair. It seemed to soothe the girl. "It is not your fault, girl. You are hardly the first person to get mixed up in such a mess. How old are you?" She asked. Ari stared at her and Anne smiled. "You don't have a family, do you?" Ari shook her head and Anne nodded. "Want one?"

"What?" Ari asked, shock rising to the fore. "What do you mean?"

"You bear some responsibility for what has happened, but then again, so do I." Anne shook her head. "I had to get out of the safe place. I had to go out into danger, even knowing it was dangerous. I put the people of Cetus in danger simply by being there. That was selfish of me. I am sick of being selfish."

"You were attacked." Ari protested. "That wasn't your fault!"

"Fault doesn't come into it, Ari." Anne said mildly. "I am responsible. How long do I have?" She asked the room and no one would meet her eyes. "Don't lie to me." She declared. "How long?"

"It won't come to that. The scans that were done show a possibility. They think they can put you into stasis." Ari said quickly. "If you are in stasis when the nanobots lose their control signal, the bots should deactivate and be excreted instead of… of..." She trailed off as Anne turned to look at her. She would not meet Anne's eyes.

"Why would the nanobots lose their control signal?" Anne asked reasonably. " _You_ are their controller, are you not?" She stiffened as realization struck. "No. No, no one dies for me!" She glared at Michelle who looked at the floor. "You are not killing her!" She hugged Ari tight.

"They don't have to." Ari said quietly. Anne felt the bunk fall out from under her at those soft words.

"Ari?" Anne said weakly.

"Esther tried to help me. She didn't know what she was doing." Ari said sadly. "I don't blame her. She was horrified by my condition when she found me. She was kind to me, but..."

"Ari, what?" Anne demanded. "What is wrong with you?" Ari would not speak so Anne opened her mind to Mishka. _Mishka?_ She demanded.

"Don't try to talk mind to mind, Anne." Mishka warned. "You and I are close, so it shouldn't cause too much harm, but with the nanobots taking over, if we do it for too long or to far, it can cause neural backlash." Anne grimaced.

"I don't want to go through _that_ again if I can help it." Anne agreed as she hugged Ari again. "What is wrong with Ari?"

Everyone looked at the warframe clad Tenno who nodded.

"Ari's form is composed of a synthetic biotech material that mimics glass in most ways." The Tenno sounded clinical, almost disinterested. Was that normal? Anne didn't know. "It is normally highly durable and highly adaptable, but it also shares weaknesses with glass. Do you know what glass is?"

"I studied some history. Glass was originally melted sand." Anne said with a nod. "More modern versions are transparent alloys, but all are less durable than non-transparent materials."

"At the most basic level, yes. That is what glass was and is." The Tenno agreed. "No matter the type, glass shares one common trait. Unless it is specially made, it is always highly brittle." Anne stared at her transformed hand and the Tenno nodded again. "That glass is an Orokin design, so it is incredibly durable and regenerative."

"It is still brittle." Ari said in a very quiet voice. "I broke fingers off regularly." Anne hugged her again as Ari sobbed in memory. "I still do. It always hurts."

"Yeah, I bet it does." Anne held Ari until the girl relaxed. "Will that happen to me?"

"I don't know." Ari admitted. "I don't remember the transformation process. I think I was the only success, but I don't know."

"I see." Anne shook her head. "So you were used to hurt me. And you were hurt before." Not questions.

"Esther did what she could." Ari tried to defend her friend. "I had been alone, locked in the tower for a long, long time before she found me. I slept a lot." She said when Anne stared at her, horrified.

"You spent the time since the _Collapse_ locked in a _room_?" Anne demanded, hugging Ari tighter. The girl seemed unsure of what to do.

"It was a house, not a room." Ari admitted. "And the tech all worked for a while. A couple of centuries. Then the power failed and I… well..." She slumped as Anne held her. She was obviously trying not to cry as Anne focused on soothing her. "Esther found me before I perished. She saved me. I don't blame her for what she did. It saved me. But..."

"What did she do?" Anne asked carefully.

"Tenno Esther provided a certain amount of her own vital energy for Ari's consumption." Ara said with a nod. "A noble act, but flawed in its execution."

"It wasn't her fault!" Ari protested. "She didn't know!"

"What happened?" Anne asked, stunned by all of this.

"Apparently, when Esther put the energy into me, it damaged my core structure." Ari in a tone barely above a whisper. "Something about molecular bonds?" She asked Ara who nodded. "It is deep and it is irreparable."

"There _has_ to be something we can do." Anne said weakly.

"Miss Anne, if I perish, the nanobots deactivate and excrete from your body and Mishka's." Ari said quietly.

"And then the people who hate the Caretakers kill us _anyway_." Anne said with a growl. "No." She hugged Ari tighter and the glass girl gave a squeak. "No, Ari, I refuse to accept you dying for me. There has to be another way."

"Anne." Michelle spoke up with a look of deep sadness on her face. "We have looked, Jesse and me. There isn't."

Anne was silent for a long moment and then she slowly let Ari go. She laid the still softly crying girl down beside her, but held onto Ari's hand with her flesh and blood one.

"How long?" Anne asked the room. Ari bowed her head and Ara spoke up.

"The rate of fracture is increasing." The female Tenno sounded calm, but it had to be a mask. No one could be that calm in such a situation. "I give her less than a week before full system collapse. That is if nothing accelerates it. Stress and shock will accelerate it."

"And this whole mess will stress her as much as the rest of us even if there are no further shocks. I bet there will be." Anne nodded. "Ari, you didn't answer me. Would you like a family?"

"Miss Anne..." Ari said weakly.

"I have seen too much death, Ari." Anne said slowly. "Too many friends, enemies, total strangers dying. If it is my time, then so be it, but I will not leave you to face _your_ time alone."

"I should have died a long time ago." Ari said quietly. "That I didn't was a fluke."

"But you didn't." Mishka shook her head. "And that is a good thing, because we can use your help."

"Mishka." Anne said sternly. "Don't even try. Ari has a right to her opinion just as anyone does." She looked at Ari who would not meet her gaze. "Do you want the Caretakers dead, Ari?"

"I don't want anyone dead." Ari said in a monotone. "The others had all kinds of reasons, but I am no warrior. I don't want to hurt people. And now? I can't hate you or Mishka." She bowed her head. "I don't know what to think."

"Well, for right now..." Anne said slowly. "...don't jump into anything. You have friends, allies and others who you know. You don't know us. It is easy to hate people you don't know." Ari nodded, face downcast. "Hey, buck up, Ari. You are not dead yet. Where there is life, there is hope. I don't know if Mitchell will survive the convocation or not, but he wouldn't want to leave you to die alone any more than I do."

She laid her glass hand on both of Ari's where they were clasped in her lap. Ari stared at it and gave another sob. Anne smiled as she reached under Ari's chin with her glass fingers and tickled the girl. Ari gave a squeak of surprise mixed with outrage, but when she looked up, Anne was smiling at her. Ari stared, eyes wide.

"Glad to see they didn't take everything from you." Anne said as she pulled Ari close again with her flesh and blood hand. "Ari, if you want a family, people who will accept you for who and what you are and never demand you do things that make you uncomfortable, I am here."

"You have a family."Ari protested. She did not try to slip out of Anne's grip. Indeed, she snuggled close.

"I have a son I will likely never see again." Anne agreed. "A husband who will likely be put to death for his impertinence in meddling in Tenno affairs. You are lost and alone. The people you trusted hurt you. Maybe they meant well..." Anne admitted when Ari started to protest. "...but they _did_ hurt you. They may have _killed_ you."

Ari was shaking her head, but Mishka joined the hug, holding her gently as Anne stroked the girl's glass hair.

"I am not asking you to suddenly decide to switch sides, Ari." Anne said softly. "I am offering what help I can give because I am scared." Ari stared at her and Anne nodded. "I have faced death before, but it was always something I could fight or I was so out of it, I couldn't make sense of anything. But you? They cannot heal you or me. Maybe they can heal Mishka, because she is a lot tougher than either of us."

"Hey!" Mishka protested, but Ari just nodded.

"She isn't exposed as badly." Ari agreed. "I didn't mean to. I swear I didn't mean to. Michelle and Tenno Ara managed to shut off my dispenser, so I am not infecting anyone else or making things worse for you or her. I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"I believe you, Ari." Anne smiled as she hugged the girl again. "I don't know what is going to come, but whatever it is, you do _not_ have to face it alone."

"Thank you." Ari said in a tiny voice. "I am scared too."

"We both have a right to fear, Ari." Anne heaved a sigh as she looked at the mass of people in her room. "So now what?"

"We will probably be called before the convocation." Michelle said quietly. "The scans are done. The evidence is available to anyone who wants to look at it. Now it is all talking."

"When will we know if… If they demand..." Anne swallowed hard and couldn't continue.

"Within the hour." Michelle slumped a bit. "I am sorry, Anne. All I can do now is hope. Even if they deny Mitchell's complaint, Nikis can hold them here to 'discuss the situation' for as long as he wants and they know it. Any who try to leave without permission, he is well within his rights to shoot." Everyone looked at her and she shrugged. "I looked up the history of such things on the way here. The First Tenno got _really_ annoyed with some of the sillier complaints."

"Hayden was always a bit abrupt when people made him angry." Ara agreed. "It was needed at times. Some humans simply cannot learn any other way except the hard way."

"Some Tenno too." Michelle said darkly. Ara nodded. "The good news is that you don't have to stay in here, Anne, Ari. The nanobots spread by touch and we can protect against such now. Mishka's mom is on her way and she is a bit steamed by all accounts. She has some things she wants to try. From what I heard? Fairly unpleasant things. Good thing she has a daughter to punish for scaring her."

Mishka suddenly looked apprehensive but no one offered sympathy.

"Ari?" Anne asked. "Do you want to stay with me? You don't have to. Your friends will wonder if I am corrupting you."

"You didn't have to be nice to me." Ari said sadly. "My nanobots hurt you. Whether you say I am to blame or not, I feel responsible. I wish I could flip a switch and fix it or convince you to let them put you into stasis."

"So I wake up without a husband and probably without an arm? With you dead?" Anne asked. Ari looked away. "We play the hand we are dealt, Ari. I was a sailor of Orokin. Now I am something both more and less. But you need help. You are all alone here. Mishka will help if she can and is not flayed by her mother." Mishka gave a squeak but again, no one commented. "But I have nothing else to do but sit and worry. Helping you would give me something to do."

"Your allies will blame me for your alteration." Ari said softly. Anne nodded. "Mine will blame you for my corruption." The girl shook her head. "Damned if we do and damned if we don't?"

"Pretty much." Anne smiled as Ari hugged her. "I always figured it was better to be castigated for doing rather than not doing. This will be hard, Ari." She warned. "There are a lot of very scary people on _both_ sides of this argument."

"I know." Ari smiled a bit forlornly. "So? What do we do?"

"We wait." Michelle said with a grimace. "I don't know how long the opening ceremony will last. The historical records vary greatly and with thirty Elders here, I bet things will get heated."

"Is there anything I can do?" Ari asked.

"There is actually." Anne said with thoughtful look. "I always wondered. What was life like in a tower?" Ari stared at her and Anne shook her head. "I grew up in a mining colony, Ari. I woke up in a tower after I was healed, but that was the first time I remember such. It was a refurbished one, so I have no idea what actual life under Orokin was like. What do you remember?"

"I…" Ari paused and then she smiled. "I have many good memories of home and I would be happy to share them."

"And I will share what I remember of mine, but be warned. It was dirty, smelly and nasty." Anne smiled right back. Michelle, Mishka both smiled and sat.

"Oh, towers had their share of dirty." Ari smirked at Anne's expression. "I was a servant. I saw it all. The good, the bad _and_ the nasty."

"This I _have_ to hear…"


	14. Chapter 14

**Opposing**

"There is nothing to discuss!"

The room was huge. It had been deigned to specifically overawe people who came to see it, intentionally putting them off balance. The only furniture in the room was one chair and a long semi-circle of benched. Benches that had also been designed specifically. They were narrow and hard. The whole idea was to keep people who sat in them from being comfortable. The chair at the head was just as uncomfortable, but the one who sat in rarely felt such mundane things. Today was no different.

Thirty two Elders and one probationary Elder all sat on the benches. None were happy to be here. None had been enthused with leaving their own work, even for less than a day. The fact that the summons had been both sudden and impossible to ignore also grated on many. They were Tenno, they understood hardship and service. That did not make them happy with such things. Even at their worst though, no one pushed too far.

For a _very_ good reason.

Everything stopped as the Nekros warframe sitting in the chair tapped a long clawed finger on the armrest before speaking. A Gara warframe stood beside him, the ceremonial battleaxe of her station finally holstered at her back,

"If there is nothing to discuss..." The Grandmaster of the Guardians of the Dead kept his voice calm and reflective through sheer force of will. "...then you may choose now." The Elder who had risen to speak paled and sat quickly enough that several snickers were heard throughout the hall. But no one else rose to speak. Nikis shook his head. "You may signify dissent by raising a hand." No one moved and Nikis sighed. "I too am bound by the rules of this convocation as you well know. If you dissent, now is the time."

"If we dissent, you make Esther kill an unarmed human!" A familiar voice snapped. Elder Rilla did not move, but her face was furious. "Of all the evil, despicable..." She broke off as Nikis wagged a finger at her.

"Yeah." Nikis chuckled, but there was little mirth in it. "The only ones allowed to do evil are you Elders." A pin dropping might have sounded like a gunshot in the sudden silence. "As I say, while we are here, I am bound. You want to kill humans, Tenno, who-the- _fuck_ -ever, I cannot stop you while I am chair." He shook his head. "Now, as to what happens _after_ that? _After_ the convocation is done?" He shrugged. "I brought _lots_ of ammo."

There was no ambiguity in that statement. Nikis had little respect for politicians and _less_ for Tenno Elders after what had happened to his son. _He_ was the eldest living Tenno, so in many ways, his word was law. If he decided everyone in the room needed to die for the good of the Tenno as a whole? They would die and all of them knew it. None of them had a chance against him even if any of them had been in warframes. Elders served as Warriors first before becoming such, so they knew what kind of a fight would ensue if Nikis was pushed hard enough. A very short one. They had _zero_ chance against the Grandmaster of the Dead.

Nikis slowly shook his head again. "This convocation was called in the oldest way by a human with a complaint. He has endured every test we have ordered and he has been vetted by multiple medical personnel. People who report to both sides of the schism that has developed here."

His words were calm, but more than one person in the room winced. Nikis had stated more than once that he would kill anyone who tried to break the Tenno into feuding bands. Few knew that he had seen such things happen before and desperately hoped it would not happen again. No one spoke and he continued.

"Tenno Ara was pulled out of cryo specifically for this convocation since she is neutral in all of our disputes and has no regard for human life one way or another." A dark mutter swept the room at the Nekros' words, but no one spoke. "Whatever we may think of her personally, she is a very skilled forensic scientist. You have seen her scans as well as all of the others. What say you. Does the human have a valid complaint?"

"He is one of them!" A voice said from the side. Nikis tilted his head at the speaker who flushed under the cold regard of the warframe. He swallowed hard, but was saved when another voice spoke up. Elder Raven wasn't happy, but her voice was sure as she spoke.

"One of what?" Raven asked quietly. "A Caretaker? No. He is not bound by the oaths of the Caretakers of the Unclean. He is not Tenno, wears no warframe. He does not follow the Code. He is human."

"He is Infested!" The naysayer felt more sure speaking to her instead of to Nikis. Small wonder. Raven wasn't _armed_.

"No, he is not." Raven countered. "Every scan shows the communication device that was implanted, but no other sign of Infestation. He is not being subsumed by the Technocyte virus." She shook her head. "That is neither here nor there. This convocation was called because he leveled a complaint. An honest one in my own personal opinion." She admitted. "I feel he has cause for complaint and I know I am not alone. The Caretakers make me very nervous, but I have yet to see any of _them_ attack unarmed humans."

Her tone was calm, but her eyes were flashing as her scarred face glared around the room. Only a few met her eyes.

"They are Infested!" The naysayer said savagely. "Tenno fight Infestation. it is what we have done since time immemorial."

"Indeed we have." Raven agreed. "And what good has it done us?" At her words, everything seemed to stop in the room. Everyone was staring at her as she shook her head, a tear slowly falling that she dashed away savagely with a hand. "What good did it do _Kori_?"

Every Tenno in the room bowed his or her head. No matter their personal opinion, every Tenno present knew the cost of the weapon used to defeat the greatest of Tenno enemies. No matter their anger or fear, no one would forget the Phoenix again. The crater that had been formed when Kori had died still smoldered on Earth to this day.

"None of us are discounting the sacrifice of the Phoenix." Elder Rilla finally said slowly. "But Tenno fight Infestation. They do not _help_ it."

"And how long until the Infestation overwhelms us?" Raven countered. Everyone stared at her and she shook her head. "I know you have seen the same reports that I have. Eris is a no-go zone much of the time now. We have many manifestations of Phorid, the J-3 and Lephantis all through the system now."

"Don't forget the boil _they_ brought to Cetus." The other said sourly.

"Anne went to Cetus alone except for an escort from the First. Are you seriously blaming a former Orokin fighter pilot for _gravity_?" Raven demanded.

"Hell of a coincidence that she goes there and a massive pile of Infested arrive the next day." Rilla growled.

"Thirty seven and a half hours after she arrived." Raven said with a snarl of her own. "Just to be clear. Of course, if it arrived in the same _century_ you would blame her. She is an easy target because she cannot defend herself from assaults by Tenno."

Both female elders were glaring daggers at each other, but both froze when Nikis coughed.

"Whoever or _what_ ever the Caretakers are is not the current focus of this convocation." Nikis reminded everyone. No one missed the fact that his left forefinger was tapping the butt of his holstered pistol. "The focus is that a human brought a complaint, knowing that his life was likely forfeit for such. Here and now, if you lot decide he must die, he will. There will be no revenge. I may disagree, but _I_ cannot gainsay the Code even if others insist on it. While the convocation is in session, you will act as adults or I will treat you as children."

Such a scathing rebuke formed in such polite language. Few had remembered that Nikis had lived longer than anyone else present. He had done so much, seen so much, it was simply unfathomable to most. It was hard sometimes to remember that the asshole gunfighter had stood in the company of kings and emperors as an _equal_. Then you got reminded. Both Rilla and Raven flushed and nodded.

"What says the convocation?" Nikis asked. "Does anyone deny that the human Mitchell has a valid complaint?" No one moved and Nikis nodded. "Then we will hear his complaint."

The Nekros waved a hand and a hologram appeared in the middle of the room. Mitchell looked _awful_. The brown robe of a supplicant was not flattering any way, bu the pale green tint to his face was worse. Humans did not react well to many forms of scan that Tenno took for granted. He stood up straight however and nodded when Nikis spoke again.

"The Elders have spoken." Nikis said formally. "Your complaint will be heard."

"Really?" Mitchell said weakly and then remembered himself. He gave a half bow. "Apologies, Grandmaster Tenno. I expected other word."

"Human Mitchell..." Nikis kept his voice quiet. "Tenno are not supposed to be capricious nor cruel simply to do it. I may not agree with everything that has been said or done by Tenno..." Understatement of the _millennium!_ "...but that does not change the fact that we are held to a higher standard. We have been ever since the days of the First Tenno when he chose to serve, not to rule."

Everyone in the room, _including Nikis_ , bowed their heads in unison as Mitchell stared at them.

"I do not understand Tenno and I do not think I ever will." Mitchell said quietly. "I have been told that is a good thing."

"It is." Nikis said dryly. Then his tone sharpened. "Speak your complaint."

"My mate and mother of my child has been attacked and may die as a result. I do not know what you have been told of my history..." Mitchell's eyes swept the room. "I served in the Orokin Navy several hundred years before the conflict known as the Old War began." More than one head nodded among the Elders. "Through a very odd series of events, I wound up in cryogenic suspension and woke up in this time. I was not alone. I had feelings for my wingmate Anne from the moment I met her, but while we served together, there could be no fraternization."

"Anne is the one who was attacked?" Nikis asked. Mitchell nodded "Continue."

"When we were rescued from Corpus captivity, Anne was a mess." Mitchell said softly. "I promised to look after her. She was slowly fading, something called 'progressive neural shock'."

"Get to the point." Rilla growled. Nikis tapped his pistol loudly and she subsided.

"The point is, Tenno..." Mitchell was scowling now. "The woman I loved was dying. I could not help her and in her few moments of lucidity, she begged me to keep flying. To fly for both of us. It was in the course of one of those flights that I met the Caretakers of the Unclean." He shook his head. "Long story short? I was Infested. I am not now. My mate was dying. She is not now and just gave birth to a son. I do not know if Tenno understand honor as humans do, but the Caretakers saved us both. Then one of you Tenno decided to use her to attack the Caretakers." More than one face turned to scrutinize Esther, but she did not react. "From them, I have seen honor, bravery, self sacrifice and a nobility that I cannot help but admire. I am not a Caretaker, but I serve them willingly."

"Then you _are_ one!" Rilla snapped.

"No, he is _not!_ " Raven snapped right back.

Mitchell looked horrified as _both_ female Tenno surged to their feet, Rilla a millisecond or so before Raven. Nikis raised a hand and Esther finally moved, the points of her huge ax sweeping down to embed in the floor. No one moved or spoke.

"And your complaint?" Nikis prompted.

"My complaint is that my wife was attacked with Orokin design nanobots injected into her by a Tenno. I wish to know what possible gain Tenno could have in killing my mate." Mitchell said slowly, his face crumbling. "Attacking the First is suicide. Pure and simple suicide. But my son would be in the line of fire. I had to try and stop it. If that means my life, then so be it. A father's duty is to protect his children."

"Honorable. None can say what the future truly holds." Nikis said philosophically. "Not even the Oracles." Several Elders looked askance at Rilla and another, but both stared straight ahead, stone faced.

"The Oracles told me there was a fifty percent chance I would die here, my complaint unheard." Mitchell bowed his head. "You say my complaint is valid?" He asked.

"They say so." Nikis agreed. "Now, we must discuss what to do about it. Are you well?" He asked.

"Physically and emotionally, I am weak and weary, Grandmaster Tenno." Mitchell admitted. "But I will be ready if needed."

"Rest yourself, human Mitchell." Nikis nodded to the holographic human. "We will have more questions for you."

Mitchell raised a hand in an ancient salute and spoke firmly. "Praesto sum." 'I stand ready' in Latin, the language that became Old Orokin.

Nikis inclined his head and the hologram vanished. Then he turned to glare at Rilla and Raven.

"Am I going to need to separate you two?" Nikis asked quietly.

"How long will you keep us here?" Rilla demanded. "Most of us have important work to do."

"Technically, I can keep y'all here as long as I want." Nikis shrugged. "But I ain't stupid. If I keep y'all here more than a day, I gots to stay with ya and I would lose my temper sooner or later." He took a deep breath and shook his head. He focused, his speech changing to more polite forms again. "And yeah, I know better than to let you go stew like this. You will try to find another way into the Citadel and Rachel will kill you." No one spoke and he shook his head yet again. "She would feel bad, after. But anyone dumb enough to try would be dead." He paused and had a frown in his voice now. "And unrecoverable." He made that sound like a personal affront.

"They cannot harbor such filth!" Rilla protested.

"Filth?" Nikis actually laughed! "You _do_ know that is what the humans called us at first? For _centuries_?" He was chuckling now, honestly amused. "Funny how human you are acting, Elder. Prejudice is very human."

"Infestation must be stopped." Rilla forced out through clenched teeth.

"It cannot be." Raven started, but broke off as Nikis raised a hand.

"Elder Raven, you may not agree with Elder Rilla, but she did rise first. She has the floor." Nikis said with a wave. Raven stared at him and then sat, face set. Rilla paused as Nikis turned to her. "As for you, follow the rules of the convocation or be expelled. This goes for all of you. You lack information."

"I know what Tenno have to do." Rilla declared. "We fight Infestation, not _harbor_ it."

"That is funny." Nikis mused as he sat. "That is exactly what the Rachel informed me that _Caretakers_ said to _her_ not five hours ago when I reported Mitchell's complaint to her." Rilla goggled at him and he shrugged. "I was legally obliged to do so when I removed their ward from Cetus."

"They are Infested!" Rilla said sternly.

"Your own medics say Mitchell is not." Nikis replied. "Do you disagree with them? Do you want more scan done?"

"More delays?" Rilla snapped. "More obfuscations? More-" She broke off as Nikis speared a finger at her.

"You call me a liar here and you will not leave this room alive." More than one person edged away form Rilla in worry of Nikis' aim. "I am following the Code. _You_ are treading very close to the edge, Elder. Be wary."

To her credit, Rilla did not immediately respond. She paused and then slowly nodded.

"I apologize, Grandmaster." Her apology seemed sincere. "I am emotional." Rilla said after a moment. "I have lost family to Infestation. Many of us have."

"I know." Nikis sighed deeply. "This hurts us all, this division. Know that I _do_ understand. I have fought Infestation longer than any of you. I know the cost better than many of you. I have watched my friends, my family fall for ages to the horror. If you believe _nothing_ else I say today, believe _this_. I stood beside Hayden Tenno against the tide. It broke on our bullets, it broke on our blades, but it _never_ stopped coming. It _will_ never stop coming."

"Are we doomed then?" Rilla asked in a small voice. More than one of the others in the room shared her fear. Raven surprised many by rising and taking Rilla's hand in her own. Rilla looked at her for a moment and then clasped Raven's hands. "I am sorry, Sister."

"Forgive my intemperate words, Sister." Raven bowed her head. "We all feel strongly. We are Tenno, not machines. I too have fought the horror, in my own ways. I have seen friends and yes, family fall to it. But there _is_ a chance. A possibility to _end_ this."

"How?" Rilla asked, still in the tiny voice. "Tenno have fought it for millennia. We cannot beat it. As Grandmaster Nikis says, we can drive it back, but we cannot beat it."

"Hayden knew that." Nikis said with a nod. "Say what you will about him, he knew his limits and ours. He and Nyx made a plan." He turned his head to a blank wall and spoke. "We are ready for you."

Everything came to a stop as a hidden door opened on one wall and three forms stepped in. Gasps of shock and fear sounded as the Saryn Prime warframe entered first, her Soma Prime in hand, but not up or aimed. Rachel was not happy. Jasmina's Ember Prime had a Glaive in hand, but it wasn't a normal one. Oh no. Everyone knew her Glaive was part of her as the First's Glaive had been. No one really noticed that though. It was the _Infested Ancient_ had had _everyone_ suddenly surging back in their seats. Rilla recoiled, but Raven pulled her close, murmuring reassurance.

"Healer won't hurt you or anyone." Raven said quickly. "It is not infectious right now. It worked hard so it would be safe for an hour or so."

"What is the meaning of this?" Rilla half pleaded.

"Explanations." A new voice sounded as a hologram of a gray and brown Ash warframe appeared in the middle of the room. He bowed to the Elders. "Greeting, Elders. In life, my name was Dustin, also called Sword of Silence."

"You knew me as Dust."


	15. Chapter 15

**Life and learning**

"Dust..."

The name circled the room. None of the Elders dared to move. Nikis sat in his chair, Esther a statue beside him. Finally, Mavri found his tongue.

"Dust." The gray bearded Elder who had dealt with Dust more than any other said weakly. "Nikis? What have you _done?_ " He wasn't complaining. If anything, he seemed frightened. Then again, he _knew_ Nikis.

"Wasn't me." Nikis replied, his posture seemingly indolent. Only someone truly observant would have noticed that his hands were millimeters from his pistols and glowed with a faint trace of orange light. He was ready for trouble. "I didn't know about it until after Karl faced you lot and Iriana stopped him from expiring. Was a hell of a shock to me too. Lousy creep kept the secret from all _kinds_ of people." He said sourly.

"Love you too, Dad." Dust said with an utterly fake sigh. More than one of the stunned Elders surprised themselves with snorts as Nikis made a rude gesture at the hologram or whatever it was. "But to answer the question you have not asked, Elder Mavri; I am not a shade. My energy was destroyed by the feedback of what I did to stop Redi's machine. But just _before_ that, two very sneaky people made copies of some of said energy. They put those copies together and I came back into being. I am a bit less than I was, but I remember being who I was."

"He didn't even tell _me_." Jasmina said softly as Mavri stared from Dust to her and back. "I didn't know until just before I was called to face Redi's patron."

"And…" Mavri swallowed hard. "He cannot come back." Jasmina and the hologram of Dust both shook their heads. "So, why speak to us, now?"

"You know what the Caretakers did before and during the Old War, yes?" Dust asked the assembled Elders. Many nodded and Dust returned it. "I do not remember leading the Caretakers, but I have seen what records still exist. I have also talked to various beings who were there. Caretaker was not the job title, by the way. 'Caretakers of the Unclean' was an insult. Tenno who were not worthy of being warriors, according to many. Our job title was 'Supervisor', not 'Caretaker'. Same basic thing, but less derogatory. We maintained the quarantine."

"Until you were stopped." Jasmina said into the silence that followed the not-quite-gone Tenno's words.

"Until we were stopped." Dust agreed. "But we also had another job. One that not all of us embraced. Many considered it busy work or a fool's errand. I honestly do not know if I considered it that or not, but everyone says I believed in the Union Project."

"'Union project'?" Rilla asked and then flushed as everyone looked at her.

"Most of the records were lost in the Collapse, but some still remember." Dust said mildly. "You may have some problem with this, Elders, but please bear with me. You cannot have more of a problem with it than I did. After my injuries at Redi's hands and my confinement in the secure psyche unit..." More than one Elder flinched, but no one commented or moved. "I did not remember who and what I was. I still do not remember it all." He slumped a bit. "I do wish I could have chosen what to remember sometimes, but I am -was..." He corrected himself grimly. "...Tenno."

"You are still Tenno." Every eye went to Nikis who growled at everyone. "Let anyone else try to go through what you did and still maintain the Code! Anyone at all! Even _me!_ The shades of the First were unanimous when we talked about you _._ After you told me you still existed in some fashion, I consulted with _all_ time that has happened in a long, long time. Contrary might be our middle name."

"If they follow the Way of Blade and Gun and honor the Code, then Tenno they be." Mavri quoted softly. Nikis nodded to him.

"That is what Hayden declared the last time we had such a division." Nikis said in a monotone. At that, the Elders all bowed their heads. Esther spun in place, obviously staring at him and he nodded. "Yes, such has happened before. Two sides totally convinced that the other was wrong and nothing could sway them from their paths. Oris and Galintra were the leaders of the factions and they killed each other. Their duel was outside of Conclave and their energy was taken and dissipated. They are gone forever. It took Hayden, Loki, Frost _and_ Trinity to keep the resulting chaos when _neither_ came back from turning into a full blown civil war."

" _Civil war?_ " Rilla breathed, horrified.

"That is what you wanted." Nikis wasn't hostile now. If anything, he was sad. "You wanted carte blanche to kill other Tenno. They tried to explain and you didn't want to hear it." He shook his head very slowly. "And what you have put into motion? I don't know if we can stop it. I am not Hayden or Trinity. I am not so good at talking problems to death. I prefer faster solutions to killing things."

"I never would have guessed." Dust had a grin in his voice and Nikis snarled at him.

"Don't push me, boy." Nikis said with a sigh. "I ain't in the mood."

"Stop what?" Rilla asked. She swallowed hard as Nikis turned to eye her.

"Stop the assaults that various groups are planning on the Citadel." Rachel spoke for the first time and silence greeted her words. "When the Caretakers were hidden, the only targets were ones that no one smart wanted to try. Jasmina in particular has a bit of a temper, if you haven't noticed." Her tone was dry and Jasmina ignored her as well as the chuckles that sounded from around the room. Rachel's next words silenced the mirth. "If they attack us, they die. I have no leeway in such and couldn't deactivate the main defenses even if I wanted to. Which I don't. I like Jasmina and her fellows. I call them friends. Attack my friends at your peril." A soft sound came from the Ancient, drawing every eye.

"Yes, I know." Jasmina said quietly. "Rachel… We should stand down. Healer is right. Violence solves nothing here and now." She sighed and her Glaive vanished.

"Your safety and Healer's is my priority at the moment, Jasmina." Rachel did not lower her Soma Prime. "They have already attacked and maybe slain one under my protection. It will _not_ happen again." Steel might have shattered under the Saryn Prime's tone.

"Rachel, let us stay within the Code as long as we can. Don't start anything." Nikis warned and the Saryn nodded. Then Nikis' gaze swept he room. "Rachel is more than a bit upset by all this. Can't really blame her. Tenno fighting Tenno is not something anyone should want. I may be crazy, I am not stupid."

"Is there no hope for Anne?" Rilla asked after a moment when no one else spoke.

"I don't know how many tries it took the Orokin to make the girl Ari." Nikis said quietly. "I do know it was more than ten and they died. I saw some of the remains. They are distinctive. Glass statues of people, some broken. I thought she was dead when I saw her." He paused. "Rachel?"

"Nothing I know of can stop the transformation." Rachel replied. "I looked over every record we have on such things. I have people still combing the records, but I doubt we will find anything. The Orokin loved their secrets."

"They were not the only ones." Nikis said darkly. He shook his head. "We are here, now to determine what happens next. The Caretakers have sent representatives to talk because they do not want to fight." He nodded to Dust's hologram, Jasmina and Healer. "For those who may doubt, Jasmina follows the Code still. She submitted to a scan by Nyx and Nyx agreed with my assessment."

A murmur went around the room. The First Nyx was a legend among the Tenno still. A mental scan done by such a person, even the shade of such, would not be gainsaid by anyone smart.

"Nyx isn't perfect." Mavri looked as if he wanted to choke on those words.

"No, she isn't." Nikis agreed. "So we had Ara examine Jasmina as well. As you know, Ara is utterly neutral. Utterly ambivalent. Do you wish her report?"

"This is the same Ara who killed five hundred and sixty nine humans?" One of the other Elders asked with a strained look Nikis nodded. "And you _trust_ her?"

"No, I don't trust her around humans." Nikis replied. "She has been escorted for every second she has been awake. Thing is, aside from her extracurricular proclivities..." Nikis said delicately. "...she was an exemplary sister. She fought, hard, beside us against all manner of foes. She never left us hanging and even when she was caught, she never fought us."

"That doesn't make any sense, Nikis!" Mavri complained. "You say she is a psychopath, but she helped our kin?"

"Sociopath, not psychopath." Nikis corrected the Elder quietly. "Not about sure of all the psychobabble, been awhile since I focused on such. We all know how complex Tenno minds can be." He said to the room and most of the assembled Elders nodded. "Ara never focused on herself. Most psychopaths focus on themselves. They know what they do it wrong, but don't care. Ara..." Nikis paused and had a frown in his voice when he spoke again. "She cares. In different ways from most of us, but she _does_ care. I think that is the only thing that kept Hayden and Nyx from killing her."

"How can you say that when she killed so many?" Rilla demanded, but her face was thoughtful rather than angry now.

"I have killed many more human than her, Elder." Nikis said with a shrug. "Am _I_ a psychopath?"

"What _day_ is it?" Dust asked slyly as everyone stared at Nikis. More than one person laughed at his wicked humor.

"You hush!" Nikis complained to general mirth around the room. He sobered. "Point is, Ara cares about _Tenno_. Not _humans_. Humans don't really register to her." He paused again and shook his head. "What she went through before she came to us was horrible in the extreme. No one blamed her for having quirks, but no one expected her to have so many or so bad."

"Is her past germane?" Mavri asked.

"I don't think so." Nikis shrugged again. "If you want a condensed version, I can send you a blurb. Word of warning, don't eat before you read it." More than one Elder stared at him and he shook his head again. "Now, just to be clear. I _do_ not, _have_ not and _will_ not condone what she did. We all agreed she had cause to act out, but there were limits and she flew right past them. She never resisted. Even when she was caught and interrogated, she never resisted us. She said she was sorry and many of us believed her. Not for what she had done to humans, but for lying to us and making us deal with her." The Nekros warframe slumped a bit. "She was a good sister. A good one to have at your back in a fight. I was devastated like many others when the truth came out. I liked her. But trust won't happen now and she knows it."

"I think we need to hear from her." Mavri said slowly can carefully. "No offense, Jasmina, Dust. But I think we do." Most than one Elder looked wary, but nodded as Mavri looked around. Rilla frowned but nodded as well.

Nikis looked at the group and spoke. "Vote. Do we hear what Ara has to say?" A number of hands went up. Even a cursory look showed a clear majority. "Very well. She is escorted by two shades and will be for the time she is out of cryo."

"Wait." Rilla said as Nikis raised a hand "She is going back in?"

"When she is done here, yes." Nikis sounded sad again. "Her punishment was to be left alive and alone forever. We were not cruel enough to leave her awake for it." More than one Elder goggled at him but he shook his head and waved. A door opened on one wall and oddly shaped warframe strode in, followed by two shades. "You behaving, Ara?"

"Yes, Grandmaster." Ara's voice was calm and unemotional. "I obey my orders."

"Good." Nikis nodded to her. "The Elders have some questions for you. You finished your examinations?"

"Yes, Grandmaster." Ara's formal tone silenced the few mutters.

"What is Jasmina's status?" Mavri asked and then paused. "I am Mavri, Tenno Ara."

"I would say 'Well met' but I doubt you would take it well." Ara did not move as Mavri looked at her. "I examined Tenno Jasmina in depth. The only oddity I could discover is a small worm like organism or organic device implanted in her skull. I am told it serves as a communication device, but I cannot fathom it. There is no sign of Technocyte infestation." She was not looking at Mavri. She was looking at the wall behind him! Nikis noted her scrutiny and coughed to get her attention. She turned to face him.

"Problem, Ara?" Nikis asked.

"There is an invisible Tenno in a warframe next to the wall." Ara said and everything in the room came to a sudden stop.

Everyone stiffened. The shades both moved to flank Ara as Rachel moved to stand in between Jasmina, healer and the Elders. Nikis rose from his chair, pistol in one hand and orange energy coalescing in the other. The ancient Nekros raised a hand and orange energy flowed from it over the heads of the Elders. A few ducked, but relaxed as the energy did nothing but play across the wall.

"I don't detect anything." Nikis said slowly. "Where?" He asked and Ara pointed to the side of where she had been looking before. "The Tenno is moving?"

"I cannot say for sure." Ara said quietly. "It is more an absence of data than actual data. Very small traces are all that I can sense. Whoever is using that power, the user is very skilled."

"Wondered when someone would try to sneak in." Nikis said very slowly. "Elders. Down."

No one needed to be asked twice. Nikis' pistols were both in hand now as all of the Elders hit the floor. Nikis' pistols barked as fast as they ever did, sounding more like machine guns than semi-automatic revolvers. Twelve shots went out in the space of perhaps a breath and everyone flinched a the insanely powerful Magnus slugs tore into the wall. Er, _eleven_ of them did. One of the shots hit something else. No one dared to move as a hologram of a Loki Prime warframe was suddenly visible and it had a Lex Prime in hand. Nikis shook his head, waved his hand and the Decoy vanished.

"Figured it had to be someone in a Loki warframe." Nikis said sourly as he reloaded his pistols. "Come out right now, pal and I won't hurt you too badly for violating the convocation. Will still hurt you, but not too badly." There was no response and Nikis sighed. "Typical Tenno. Always the _hard_ way." He raised a hand, but paused as Ara shook her head. "Ara?"

"Too much power puts kin at risk, Grandmaster." Ara said quietly. "May I?" Nikis looked at her and she slumped a bit. "I know you will never trust me, but I can ferret out invisible opponents."

"That you can." Nikis admitted. "Question is, 'Will you stop there'?"

"Grandmaster." Ara was still quiet and calm. "When you woke me, it was to prevent a conflict between Tenno from sparking into another civil war. Once was enough for me."

"You didn't see the second time." Nikis heaved a deeper sigh. "Go ahead." Both shades looked at him and he nodded. "I take responsibility. If this is who I _think_ it is, this whole mess just went from _bad_ to _worse_."

Both shades nodded and turned to eye Ara who nodded to Nikis as her hands came up and energy flared from them. A hologram… No… An _actual_ dark furred Kavat with lavender eyes stepped into existence beside Ara, its head coming up and letting the warframe scratch it. It eyed the Infested Ancient and made a mewing noise, but Ara shook her head.

"Not today, Liriel." Ara said mildly. "There is an unseen opponent here. Find him, my sweet." The Kavat looked at her and made and inquiring noise. Ara shook her head. "Just find, nothing more."

The Kavat stalked off, ignoring the Elders as they rose cautiously to make way for it. In a few moments it had circled the room. Then it paused and stalked toward Rilla who paled, but stood her ground as it strode right up to her and then past her. The it jumped as something slammed into the floor where it had been. It hissed in anger and backed away as Rachel and Nikis took aim at the space where the blow had come from. Esther had her ax in hand as well, apparently simply on instinct.

"Show yourself." Nikis said sourly. "Or I will make you visible in a way you _really_ won't like." He raised a hand again, but again, Ara shook her head. "Ara..." Nikis groaned.

"Allow me, Grandmaster?" Ara asked diffidently. Nikis made a noise halfway between a sigh and a groan, but then nodded. A whip made of pure red-purple energy appeared coiled in Ara's hand and she lashed out without warning. The many tails of the whip struck something and wrapped around it.

Around… the _pure white Loki Prime_ that held the Bo Prime staff. He twirled his staff and the tendrils of energy faded. But the damage was done. He was visible.

"Might have known." Nikis said softly as he aimed.

"Hello Sun."


	16. Chapter 16

**Diametric**

"Nikis."

The voice of the Grandmaster of Tenno interrogators was calm and assured, as always. His staff hung ready. It was a very rare occasion and always notable for such when the white Loki Prime showed any trace of human emotion. He didn't seem perturbed at all with both Nikis and Rachel aiming at him. Jasmina had her Glaive out again, but she stood in between the Loki and the Ancient who seemed unsure now.

"Mind telling me why you snuck in here instead of coming openly?" Nikis asked, still in a conversational tone. "Its not like you were barred from the place or anything."

"I was not sure I would be welcome." Butter might not have melted in Sun's mouth. He turned to scrutinize the hologram of dust who met his gaze as dispassionately as only a warframe could. "Now I see why you support them. I had wondered about that."

"Yeah." Nikis replied as if the pair of ancient Tenno were the only ones in the room. He shook his head slowly. "What do you want, Sun?" He chuckled darkly. "You didn't come in here and make a bunch of people wet themselves without a plan. Probably even had one for being discovered." He shook his head. "Even if you are good enough to hide from almost anyone else but Ara."

"Ariana Arachne. Spider White." Sun's soft words had Ara stiffening. "Of all the people I might have expected you to thaw out. That was not one of them."

"She was available and she is impartial. You are not neutral in this." Nikis said mildly and more than one Elder stiffened.

"I am more neutral than you are." Sun's rejoinder was just as mild.

"Hence why she is here." Nikis inclined his head to Ara who did not move. The Kavat stepped to her side, mewling softly in distress at the tension in the air. "While _you_ may be happy pitting Tenno against Tenno, I am not unless I have no choice."

At that, everyone stiffened. Ara's hand that had been scratching the Kavat's head went still. Jasmina and Rachel were both statues. Dust's hologram was just as still. The Healer Ancient seemed petrified.

"You are leaving me no choice." Sun replied, his tone still so icy calm. "Tenno do not aid Infested."

"Unless it is in their interests to do so." Nikis stepped forward, pistols still aimed. "Don't tell me you haven't done such. Don't even try."

"Nikis..." Mavri spoke softly as the Loki Prime stepped away from the group, his staff still held ready. Nikis ignored him, still eyeing the Loki.

"Jasmina, you are the designated leader of the Caretakers." Nikis said slowly as he tracked Sun. "Would you be so kind as to tell the Elders what Sun has been doing?" At that, Sun seemed to still completely. Nikis shook his head, just a little. "I know what you want and you ain't getting it. You may be old, tough and scary, but there is always someone better. You fight me and you know you will lose."

"This is no concern of yours." Sun said, still so icily polite. Nikis looked from him to Dust's holo and back. "That is not your son."

"More than any one of _you_ managed to do." Nikis' tone had more than a few people blanching. Rachel moved a little to keep between Healer and the pair. "Funny how _Infested_ act more civilized, more kind, than _we_ do!" He snapped.

"They are controlling you, old friend." Sun wasn't pleading. Not quite.

"Are they?" Nikis spat the words. "Ara! Report! Now! And I under control?"

"No." Ara's calm word had everyone tensing, but nothing happened and they relaxed.

"Are the Caretakers controlling me in any way?" Nikis demanded, still aiming at Sun.

"I have not detected any mental controls." Ara replied. "While it is possible that they are manipulating you, I find that probability to be remote. They seem to be acting within the Code. Unlike some of their opponents." Faint disgust rang in her words. "If I may?" She asked and Nikis nodded. "Caretaker?" She asked Jasmina. "What has the Tenno named Sun done?"

"He has demanded I work for him." Jasmina said flatly. "And I have refused." She continued when most of the Elders reacted with shock.

"If you have refused, then I do not see the problem." Ara sounded confused. "Tenno bound by the Code are not slaves, we do what we wish as long as we abide by the Code." She paused. "Or we are deemed unworthy by our fellows." Ancient shame sounded in her tone now.

"The problem, Tenno Ara..." Jasmina said slowly and carefully. "...is that he does not want us destroyed. He wants us working for him. Just as some Infested did under Orokin."

At that, mutters started around the room as Sun retreated a step, putting his back to the wall. The Elders melted out of his way.

"I do not understand."Ara sounded even more confused now.

"Tenno Sun is one of the leaders of Tenno Intelligence." Jasmina said quietly, still eyeing Sun. Sun shook his head minutely, but Jasmina ignored him. "Their designated job it to gather and analyze information for the Tenno as a whole."

"Oh." Ara sounded sick now. "That is not their only job." It was not a question.

"It was well documented that the Orokin used Infested as weapons many times." Jasmina replied. "What is not well documented is _how_."

"Because any human coming into contact with the Technocyte virus, no matter how well protected, will be infected in time." Ara sounded horrified now as she glared at Sun. "Him?"

"Not him alone." Jasmina said with a growl. "We have accessed memories of five total Tenno involved in such including him. As far as we know, none of the others survived the Collapse." None of the Elders seemed to be breathing now. None of them wanted to draw the attention of any of the very scary and angry people in the room. "We remember him and his methods. We want nothing to do with him."

"I acted under orders." Sun said slowly, but Nikis barked a laugh. There was no humor in it.

"Don't you dare invoke Godwin's law here!" Nikis snapped. "You are needed by the Tenno as a whole, so I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to. You are _not_ touching them!"

"Then you leave me no choice." Sun sounded sad now.

Jasmina screamed as his hand came up with a golden object in it. Nikis was firing as a golden beam of some kind flew from it. It forked at Dust's holo and _two_ beams flew towards her and Healer. Rachel interposed herself in front of Jasmina but it arced smoothly around her and hit Jasmina full on. Jasmina's scream faded as her form did. Healer stood as if transfixed, but then _Ara_ of all people threw herself at the Infested, placing her body between the beam and the Ancient. It hit her instead and her body vanished as swiftly as Jasmina's had done.

The Loki Prime shuddered under Nikis' fire and then Rachel opened fire as well, her Soma Prime's chatter driving every Elder to the floor as she and Nikis tore the white armored form apart. Orange energy flared from Nikis, but then it faded and more than one person blanched as Nikis started cursing..

"Damn him!" Nikis snapped. "A _specter_! He shifted somehow but he cannot have left the facility since no one else has. The only way he could have gotten in was to piggyback on a portal! Rachel! Summon the others. One way portals, but leave enough to defend the Citadel. We will find him."

Rachel nodded and looked at the ceiling, obviously talking to others, her posture angry.

"What has he done?" Dust begged. "Where is Jasmina?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Somewhere

Jasmina was cold and she was alone. She couldn't feel anything in her mind. She felt fear rise, but it faded as warmth surrounded her.

 _I have you, Sister. You are not alone._

That was Ara's voice! It soothed her as the link to the mass mind did? How?

 _What is going on?_ Jasmina pleaded. _What did he do?_

 _I don't know._ Ara admitted. _I am glad I was there. You need help and the others will seek me. Perhaps they can find me easier than they can find you._

 _Don't bet on it._ Jasmina said weakly. _No one ever found out where Intelligence worked on Infested. He has probably sent me there. But you? Why you?_ Suspicion rang in her mind despite the other's warmth.

 _I fought Infested, Sister Jasmina. You are nothing like them._ Ara said quietly. _Caution is advisable, for you do not know me. But as to why? Nikis was an incredibly good judge of character when I knew him. I creeped him out, but he never knew why._ _He likes you and trusts you. He and I_ _fought outbreaks. It is what we did, but we knew we could never stop them. Even with Orokin aid, we could never stop them. Only the Phoenix could stop the most ancient of enemies and even that horrific sacrifice could never eradicate it. There had to be another way. I helped Nyx and Hayden set up the Union Project._

 _What?_ Jasmina stammered, but then she gasped as pain flared in her mind.

 _Focus on my voice!_ Ara commanded. _Not the pain! Pain is the way in! Leave it be, sister. Stay with me._ Warmth surrounded Jasmina, pushing the pain away.

 _Why are you helping me?_ Jasmina asked as the warmth soaked through her.

There was silence for a long moment and then Ara spoke again. _Because I can and for once, I want to help kin, rather than hurt them. I hurt Trinity so badly when I did as my inner psyche demanded. I tried not to have it splash on our kin. I failed. I do not feel for humans. I doubt I ever will, but you, sister? You need my help and I can give it._

Without warning, Jasmina was elsewhere. She couldn't tell where, whether it was a virtual environment or an actual physical place. The lights were bright and she was upright in some kind of tube. Fluid sloshed around her as she tried to move, but when she looked at her hand, it wasn't armored! So some kind of virtual interface. She jerked as energy played into her. It hurt and she ignored the pain but it was too powerful to resist. It was seeping through her, binding her cells, her blood and bone. She was fading as the controls were placed in every single...

" _OH NO, YOU_ _ **DON'T!**_ "

That was a shout and Jasmina could do nothing but reel as the tube she was in shattered under a large black claw. She couldn't move. She stared up, and up, and up at the large two segmented body that now straddled her. It had eight legs! Two hands bent down and pulled her up into a gentle embrace as a white form recoiled away from the huge black half spider, half woman who held Jasmina. She had white hair and dark skin. Her eyes were lavender pits of hell as she looked at Jasmina and then at the other occupant of the room.

"Really?" Ara's voice was cold now. Cold, hard and merciless. "You enslave other and _dare_ call yourself Tenno?"

"Ariana Arachne." Sun stepped into full view. He wore his warframe and Jasmina quailed, but Ara didn't seem to notice. "Why did you do that? That seems out of character."

"My name is Ara." Ara sighed as she eased Jasmina into a more comfortable position. "The Tenno mind is a simple thing, is it not? There is always one reason to do things, is there not?"

"Usually minds react the same general way." Sun hadn't moved, Jasmina realized. Was he worried? Hard to tell. "What records exist of you paint you as a sociopath."

"I am generally characterized as such, yes." Ara might have been carved from stone.

"So, why did you put yourself in this position?" Sun sounded honestly curious.

"Do you know what love is, Tenno Sun?" Ara's words didn't make any sense to Jasmina. Was she delaying? What was she _doing_?

"It is _Grandmaster_ Sun." The Loki said sharply. Had Ara gotten under his skin? Hard to imagine, but Ara was more than she seemed.

"Very well, if we must be formal..." Ara said slowly and then bowed her human shaped head to the Loki Prime. "My rank of Grandmistress of Illusions was stripped from me by Hayden, so I will simply call myself by the name the Orokin gave me when they remade me to fight in their gladiatorial arena. My name is Tenno Ariana Arachne and I find your behavior in this episode to be boorish in the extreme."

Gladiator? What? Jasmina was reeling. What the hell was Ara?

"You are Ariana Arachne." Sun mused. "There are no records of where you came from before the Citadel."

"Yes, there are." Ara said quietly. "But they are sealed even beyond your ability to search out. You couldn't get into the Citadel's records, could you?" Sun just looked at her and Ara shrugged. It didn't look right on such a monster. "That is why the attack on Anne. To force the Caretakers out of their safety. The First wouldn't let you in, would they?"

"This doesn't concern you." Sun shook his head.

"You lack information." Ara retorted, her voice even. "Do you wish it or do you simply wish to fight? I am remarkable ambivalent in this. I do not want to fight Tenno, but you will not touch Caretaker Jasmina or her allies again."

That cold statement was fact. The threat that underlay it should have been ludicrous when facing Sun of all people. Somehow, it wasn't.

"You are in no position to make threats." Sun sounded back on even keel.

"If you think I cannot fight here, then you are sadly mistaken." Ara laid Jasmina down and warmth wrapped around the paralyzed Tenno, starting at her feet. "Let me protect Sister Jasmina and then we can argue however you wish. With words, with blades, guns or energy. You may win, I may win, but either way, our kin _lose_."

Something warm and white surrounded Jasmina's eyes and she sank into darkness, aware of a soft mewling in her ear as she floated.

"That Kavat won't help you." Sun's cold voice pulled Jasmina out of her half doze.

"Liriel? She is here to comfort Jasmina while the paralytic you gave her wears off." Ara's cold voice replied. Something warmer nestled against Jasmina's ribs. It was purring. "I don't need her help. You cannot hide from me in a virtual world."

"Why are you doing this?" Sun asked as clicking sounded around Jasmina. Movement? "You betrayed your oaths. Betrayed the First."

"Did I? Whatever I feel about humans or Orokin is immaterial." Ara's voice sounded sad now. "Hayden Tenno and the others took me in when I was lost and my world falling to pieces. My body was changing and my soul was tattered from years of fighting and killing in that horrific place. Nothing you can do can possibly hurt worse than the look in Trinity's eyes when she realized what I had done. What I had hidden from everyone. I didn't want to kill. I didn't. I just had to. They _made_ me to kill!" Her voice hardened. "In a place just like this."

"What?" For the first time in Jasmina's experience, Sun sounded nonplussed.

"Who needed deniable weapons, _Grandmaster_?" Ara bit out the honorific like an insult. " _Who_ needed tools that could be used and discarded at need? _Who_ wanted weapons in human form that would kill and kill and kill until they either outlived their usefulness or were discovered?"

"We did not do this to you." Sun said slowly.

"You would have." Ara retorted. "If you deemed it useful, you would have. Human, Infested or Tenno, it makes no difference. The end always justifies the means, does it not? I knew a lot of people like that after the pit. Before I was infected, before Trinity..." She gave a tiny sob. "Before Trinity and Nisa found me."

 _Nisa?_ Where did Jasmina know that name from?

"What has that to do with you violating your parole and interfering in my work?" Sun asked, back on even keel it seemed.

"Nisa was my friend." Ara said softly. "You will stop this now. This manipulation of Tenno to fight other Tenno. You will not interfere with the Caretakers again."

"Or what?" Sun asked, his tone considering rather than derisive.

Jasmina gasped as something touched her and power flared into her. It didn't hurt. Far from it. It felt heavenly!

AND IT WAS FAMILIAR!

 _Ara was a Caretaker!_

Jasmina was on her feet, her senses free as her limbs now. Her warframe formed around her and her Glaive came to her hand as Ara stepped to the side, drawing a wicked looking polearm with axes at both ends.

"We never hoped for such an outcome when we started the project." Ara was _crying_! "It was Nisa's idea to set up the neural shunts in such a way. Even Trinity called it a pipe dream. 'No chance', everyone said. But we knew there had to be another way. Then she made the sword and I lost her. I lost the _one_ hold to sanity I had. There was only death after that my own and humans. I prayed to be called, but she never called _me_."

"Called?" Jasmina breathed. Only one sword called and killed its wielders that she knew of. The Phoenix. "Nisa? The First Valkyr?" Ara bowed her head. "Nisa and you..."

"We were friends, coworkers. No more. But she was my only true friend. She pulled me out of my pit of despair." Ara said with a sob. "She was the best of us, the brightest and kindest. She saw the quarantine and was horrified. She and I tried to find a better way. And that blasted sword she made killed her!"

Jasmina slowly reached out to touch the hard scaled abdomen and Ara shifted a little to stay out of reach.

"Tenno Sun? Grandmaster though you may be, you will _not_ harm my sister." Ara said with a snarl as she spun her polearm expertly.

"And you will _not_ defile my best friend's life's work!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Breaking points**

For just a moment, Jasmina felt hope flare as Ara stood beside her facing off against Sun. Then the Loki nodded to Ara and vanished. Ara's monstrous form gave Jasmina a shove that pushed her out of the way as a whistling strike came out of nowhere. The staff end hit the floor and vanished just as swiftly as it had appeared.

"Sister, fall back! Liriel, warn her if he gets close to her." Ara commanded and the Kavat stepped forward to Jasmina's side, head up and scanning the area. One hand came off her polearm and white strands of _something_ shot from it to cover the area. It highlighted the warframe that had been approaching to strike her from behind. She spun her polearm and her form was perfect as it clashed with a familiar Bo Prime.

"Sister?" Jasmina backed away, she knew her own level of skill and these two so outclassed her it was unreal. Inadequacy was not a feeling Jasmina was used to. "What can I do?"

"Defend yourself. Nothing more." Ara snapped. "Stay back unless you get a clear opening. If he is _anything_ like the Loki of our time, he will be sneaky as hell. Trust nothing you see."

Staff end ornaments met ax blades in glittering whistling arcs that blurred the air. Each combatant was so skilled that a single mistake or misstep would end the battle, probably with death. Neither made any mistakes. Jasmina couldn't see Sun, but Ara apparently _could_.

"You cannot win this, Grandmaster Sun." Ara said as she countered blow after blow. "None but fools cross Nikis and while he may be erratic on occasion, his heart _is_ in the right place. His devotion to the Tenno and his sense of duty rival anyone I have ever known. Irritating him was a bad idea when I knew him and I bet it hasn't gotten any better since then. Angering him is a _bad_ idea."

"He has been compromised." Sun's voice came out of nowhere.

"Maybe he has." Ara allowed. She managed a shrug somehow even as she countered yet another invisible strike and lashed out, connecting to something that dodged away at the very last moment to avoid being cut in half. "But that does not excuse what you are doing here. You will not enslave my sister."

She was ice cold now as she focused on the foe that Jasmina could not see. But the Kavat could and Jasmina kept part of her attention on it. She lashed out again and again, each time her polearm struck something and sparks flew. Then the sparks abruptly ended.

"Enough." Sun's voice was just as cold. "You interfere in matters beyond your ken, traitor."

"I never-" Whatever else Ara was going to say was cut off as a hail of objects came out of nowhere. Bullets! Jasmina screamed as Ara tried to block and only managed to parry a few. She went down in a heap. The Ember stared around wildly, but there was no sign of Sun. She felt something crack within her and power the likes of which she had never imagined poured into her.

Sun didn't seem to notice what was happening with her as he appeared, a stubby sub machine gun in his hands aimed at Ara's still form.

"Honor is all well and good, traitor." Sun said coldly. "I prefer to win."

"I never betrayed the Tenno."Ara growled as she sat up, a pair of things flying from her hand. They hit Sun and he froze in place as small triangular fields of energy activated. "Go head, shoot. And then the dead-woman's switch on those Castanas blows you to pieces. This is virtual, so you won't die, but you will take time to reform."

"You think I cannot disarm these?" Sun asked.

"Go ahead, I trapped them. I think if you interfere with what is about to happen, this is all for naught. Just stand for a moment while I try to fix this." Ara said savagely as she rose to her feet. Jasmina stared, she had a number of dripping holes blow in her monstrous form, but Ara's face was worried as she looked at Jasmina. "Sister. Be calm. Please."

"He shot you." Jasmina did not recognize her voice. It seemed to come from far away. The Kavat beside Jasmina made a noise that was pure worry.

"This is all in the mind, Sister Jasmina." Ara stepped forward, her body reforming as Jasmina watched "It hurts and my energy is depleting but please, calm. Be calm. You are too close to the edge. If you go over, you will take all of them with you."

"What?" Jasmina asked slowly. Why was she so calm? She should be raging, be crying. Screaming. _Something!_

"I cannot feel it all, sister. I am not connected as you are." Ara laid her human hand on Jasmina's warframe, touching the right arm gently. "I can feel it exists and I am not blocked as you are. They are very afraid. For you and for what you might do. Stand down, Sister. This is not the way."

"What are you-?" Sun started, but paused as Ara screamed at him.

" _Shut up or_ _they_ _are all going to die!_ " The monstrous form barked at him and Sun recoiled just a little. "You just _had_ to be in control of her. She is the linchpin, the rock on which the others all stand. Take control of her and the others will fall into line. She didn't want to lose her soul working for you! What part of that is so hard to understand?"

"I don't..." Jasmina broke off, unsure of what she was trying to say. Her Glaive was in hand and it was glowing with energy that was pulsing oddly. Ara reached out and took the Glaive in careful fingers, clasping her hand around Jasmina's. "I don't understand." Even to her, her voice was oddly childlike.

"I know." Ara sighed. "I prefer not to care. I prefer not to feel. Losing Nisa the way we did hurt worse than anything else I ever felt. Worse than any injury, any experiment. I tried not to, Sister, I really did. I tried to keep from killing. But it was what I was." She shook her head. "In the end, I am what I am. Nisa and Trinity tried to make me someone better. They failed. It just couldn't be done."

Jasmina jerked as the Glaive started to glow brighter and brighter.

"What is happening?" Jasmina demanded, trying to pull free. Ara would not let her go. Indeed, Ara's other hand was on Jasmina's now.

"I shattered the controls he tried to place in your mind." Ara said sadly. "When I did, I broke other things. There was no other way. I apologize for the injury, sister." Jasmina was shaking her head, but Ara continued. "You are drawing on the power you can touch as a Caretaker without any control." Jasmina hissed in shock and fear. Ara's grip tightened. "Yes. I can barely sense the power, but it is immense. Far more than any Tenno can wield. Even Nikis might have trouble with such, let alone a spy." She glared at Sun who hadn't moved.

"What will happen?" Jasmina pleaded. "What will happen to the others?"

"You are angry and your anger is leeching into the link you share." Ara was stroking Jasmina's hand gently, but her grip was still iron. "Once you release it, the anger will travel through the link and into the others. I can only imagine what will happen then. Is it a true mass mind?" She pleaded.

"Yes." Jasmina was stunned. She had never told Ara that, had she? "As intelligent as I am or more so. Far smarter than me. How do you know that?"

"We had hoped for such a thing." Ara admitted. "Some way to speak with part of the Infested. They were bestial, nothing but raw fury and power. But they were intelligent after a fashion. Far more intelligent than most believed. We hoped to spark a change, get a chance at a dialogue. Find some way to stop the endless war. Hayden, Nyx, Nisa and I worked hard to understand what we were and we found out things that horrified us and amazed us in equal measure. We came from the Technocyte Virus. All of us."

"I… I gave my word. Swore the oath to care for it." Jasmina stammered. "I have to protect it. Kill me! Now!" She tried to force the Glaive into her own warframe, but Ara's grip was firm.

"No." Ara said simply. "That won't help. If anything, it will make things worse. Without you, what will they do when this one or others attack them again?" She nodded at Sun who was still frozen. "You are true Tenno, you do not wish to fight Tenno."

"I am tired of being called Unclean!" Jasmina almost screamed that. Then she was crying. "It hurts, sister. It hurts so much! I try to live by the Code, live with honor, and they don't believe me!"

"They can't." Ara agreed as she continued to stroke Jasmina's hand. "What you share, I can feel a little and _I_ have difficulty believing it even now." Her face creased into a soft, sad smile. "Sister, do you trust me?"

"I..." Jasmina paused and then she nodded slowly. "I do. If that damns me, then so be it. You have been kind and fair to me when so many others simply turn their backs or try to use me for their own ends."

"Oh, I am going to use you." Ara said quietly and Jasmina stiffened. "I am tired, sister. They say I have no emotions, but I do. I walled them off so I could function. I never betrayed my kin, they were upset that I never told them what I was doing when I went off for months at a time. I couldn't care less about humans. The Orokin made me that way and nothing Nyx or Trinity or Nisa could do ever brought a sense of empathy for them."

"You said you were a gladiator?" Jasmina said slowly. Ara nodded. "For how long?"

"I don't know for sure. There were decades of recordings that featured me. Most of them were horrific, the worst kind of violent pornography mixed with pure violence." Ara admitted. "There were no records that we could find in the lab where they found me. I don't know if I volunteered for the experiments or they just did them to me."

"Wait..." Jasmina swallowed. "A lab? They _made_ you..."

"They infected me with the Technocyte virus." Ara sounded remote now. "My memories of that are vague. Nisa and Trinity found me there and they did what they could, but I was… oh dear."

A host of golden transparent forms appeared in the room, crowding it beyond comprehension. Trinity stepped out of the pack, a Tigris shotgun in her hand. It was coming up. Before she could fire, Ara screamed.

" _Trinity, stop!_ " The monstrous form of Ara held tight as Jasmina tried to recoil. "If I let go or dis-corporate, she infects the mass mind with her rage! She cannot stop it since this fool tried to enslave her and the controls shattered her own!" Trinity froze, her shotgun almost aimed.

"He _what?_ " Trinity demanded. The glare she leveled on Sun should have rendered him to ash.

"Trinity, you can help her." Ara said quickly. "You need to assist her in maintaining her control. I-" She paused as Mag stepped out of the crowd, her hands empty except for a pair of spoons. "Mag! Wait!"

"You violated your parole." Mag said quietly.

" _And I would do it again!_ " Ara screamed. Everyone stared at her and she continued. " _She doesn't deserve this!_ "

"Be that as it may." Trinity bowed her head. "You know the rules."

"Yes, I do." Ara seemed calmer now as she looked at Jasmina. "Sister, I asked before. Now I ask again. Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Jasmina replied, staring around at the mass of shades, some of whom had surrounded Sun.

"Good."

There was no warning before Ara pulled hard with both hands on Jasmina's Glaive, plunging one super sharp blade of metal into her own chest. It went in without even a whisper of hesitation. Jasmina tried to cry out, tried to scream, to do anything, but she was frozen in place as power flowed into her from the Glaive. It felt odd, both soothing and jarring. Trinity _did_ scream.

"Ara!" The shade was at Jasmina's side in an instant as Ara slowly fell to her many knees. "Why?" She tried to heal the terrible wound, but her power did not work for some reason.

"She..." Ara gasped as life fled her virtual form. "...needs… the help." She fell still as Trinity stared from her to Jasmina who was trying with all of her might to break free of whatever held her.

Trinity reached out to Jasmina and touched the frozen Tenno on the side of the head. Instantly, Jasmina was free and she was babbling as she yanked her hand and Glaive from Ara's body.

"No, no, no, no!" Jasmina tried to recoil, but Trinity held her tight now, an embrace. "Not for me! Not for me!"

"She is not dead, Jasmina." Trinity reassured the other. "She used much of her energy to assist you in regaining control but she is not gone. Yet. Easy, girl. Calm." She soothed Jasmina and the Caretaker slowly relaxed. "You need to be calm, this has stressed you beyond belief." Her touch was gentle as she eased Jasmina to her knees. "Everything has a breaking point and this is yours. Your kin need you, Jasmina."

"They say I am a monster." Jasmina was crying as other shades stepped close, some touched her, other just stood, all offering support.

"Every one of us has a monster inside, Jasmina." Trinity said sadly as she held the shuddering Tenno. "Yours is just a bit more blatant than most. For what it is worth, Jasmina, we know you are true to the Code."

"That means a lot to me, Trinity." Jasmina said weakly. "But this… I don't know if I can keep doing this. I cannot keep running from my kin!"

"Then don't run." A new voice had Jasmina looking up. A shade that looked like an old Tenno woman who was wearing what looking like animals skins nodded to her. "Hello Jasmina. My name is Margaret."

"Hello Margaret." Jasmina said softly. "I… What do you mean? I cannot fight Tenno. I will not be renegade."

"Good." Margaret smiled at her. Said smile faltered a little. "Your choices have been hard and will only get harder, I fear. Jasmina, do you know why Sun did what he did?"

"He wants weapons!" Jasmina snapped. She paused as Margaret shook her head. "What?"

"Jasmina, think.' Margaret said with the bite of command in her tone. "Many use Infested as weapons already. Even some Tenno have Specters of Infested that they use and throw away." Jasmina looked at the floor and Margaret sighed. "The reason no one trusts you Caretakers is that no one controls you. You are literally loose cannons running around with the power to destroy humanity _and_ the Tenno. You answer only to yourselves and many are asking how long until you turn on the Tenno."

"No." Jasmina declared, horrified. "No! I would _never_! _We_ would never!"

"Never is a long, long time, Jasmina." Margaret sighed deeply. "If there is _one_ thing that has not changed throughout recorded history it is that things _do_ change. This is going to be hard for you to believe, but Sun did mean well."

"What?" Jasmina shot to her feet, Trinity still holding her and the others now holding her as she quivered in rage. "He tried to _enslave_ me!"

"I know." Margaret shook her head. "He didn't know about Ara. Few knew about her past except as a shame. A blot in our history. I didn't know she started the project with Nisa." Trinity bowed her head. "Jasmina, who do you answer to?"

"I answer to the mass mind." Jasmina retorted hotly. "They would never attack anyone. They are so empathic it would hurt them to do so. It _has_ hurt them to do so." She said sadly.

"And how many people know that?" Margaret asked reasonably. Jasmina shook her head and Margaret sighed again. "Jasmina, no one is asking you to fight Tenno. Indeed, we are all looking for ways to keep it from happening. Esther and Rilla's plan bordered on the suicidal but they were determined to try. Only a complete idiot with a death wish attacks the First. But as long as you are there and not beholden to Rachel, they will try. They see you as a credible threat."

"I don't want to be one!" Jasmina said weakly and then she gasped as emotions flew through her. Whatever had been holding her from the mass mind and the other Caretakers was gone. The mass mind was terrified for her. She spent a moment soothing it and then she focused on Ara's still form. The mass mind was with her and they all shared the same thought. "She is one of us."

"Jasmina..." Margaret and Trinity both growled that, but Mag stepped forward.

"Do you realize what that means?" Mag asked the suddenly silent room.

"Yes, I take responsibility." Jasmina bent down and gathered up Ara's still form. "She said she would use me and I know what she wants. Putting her into cryo forever was cruel."

"It was the best of bad choices." Trinity slumped a bit. "She was ready for us to kill her, but none of us wanted to. She was loyal to us. She just couldn't stop killing humans."

"I understand." Jasmina shook her head as she held Ara's bulk. "As for being loose cannons? I understand that too. We all do, but we cannot trust. Even Rachel, we find hard to trust after so many betrayals. What can I do?"

"Explain it all."


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorrow**

Ari was shaking as Anne led her out of the room where they had been sequestered together. Mishka and Michelle followed, their silence almost unbearable after the kindness both had shown the shuddering girl. But Anne's arm was strong around Ari's shoulders.

"Courage, Ari." Anne was firm, but kind as she steering Ari towards a door ahead that blinked. "No matter what, you are not alone."

"I honestly do not know what to do." Ari admitted as she let Anne guide her. "I mean, I was ready to sacrifice myself. I think... I think I have always been ready to do that."

"They might have programmed you for that." Anne sighed deeply as Ari slumped a little. "It isn't your fault, Ari. No one blames you." She shook her head. "Well, some will, but _I_ don't."

"You are a better person than I am." Ari said in a tiny voice.

"I don't see that, Ari." Anne smiled as she guided the girl to the door that opened of them. They passed it, Mishka and Michelle following. What met their eyes had all four freezing. The Elders were sitting in a semicircle around the edges of the room. Nikis sat in a chair to one side, Esther standing beside him, a huge ax holstered at her back. A cluster of transparent golden warframes surrounded something in a corner. But it was the white Loki Prime at the wall that held everyone's attention. What was he doing?

Ari gasped and she was not alone as she realized that the Loki was writing on the wall. And _what_ he was writing…

'I will not enslave Tenno. I will not enslave Tenno. I will not enslave Tenno.'

The wall was _covered_ in those words. Hundreds of lines from ceiling to floor and he was still writing. Ari wilted as Nikis looked at her but Anne's arm tightened around her shoulders and she kept her mouth shut as Anne led her forward.

"Don't mind him." Nikis said to the newcomers. "Nyx was a bit peeved with him." He gave an exaggerated shudder. "That girl has issues and no mistake, but she also has a hell of a temper. Step forward, Ari, Anne. We have deliberated."

"I..." Ari fought back her fear and squared her shoulders as best she could. Anne smiled as the girl stepped forward, Anne still beside her. "I do not know what to say or do."

"No one blames you for that, girl." Nikis said quietly. "I know I scare you. I know why. You have been told what happened?" Ari nodded. "Then I won't go over it again. For what it is worth, you have my apology." Ari goggled at him and Nikis shook his head. "If I had known you were sentient, I wouldn't have left you there. I ain't a good being, but there are limits."

"You..." Ari stammered to a halt, composed herself and started again. "You couldn't have known."

"True." Nikis allowed. "But that doesn't discount the fact that I left you to starve alone in that place. You ain't my enemy, girl. You were collateral damage and if there was any way I could fix it, I would."

"You can't." Ari said in a small voice. Nikis shook his head.

"No." The Nekros sounded sad. "I am a Tenno, not a god. There are limits to my power."

"I know. Thank you for your understanding." Ari managed a small, sad smile. "What is to be my fate then?"

"No technology that we know of can save you, girl." Nikis said heavily. "No Healer tricks or slight of hand can pull your mind out of where it is. If you were human or Tenno, there would be possibilities..." He paused as Ari nodded and then he waved for her to speak when she looked unsure..

"I am not." Ari allowed. "I will meet my fate with what dignity I can muster, Master Tenno." Nikis inclined his head to her and she continued. "I have spent my time speaking with people who have alternate viewpoints from what I knew. Please tell me you can save Mishka and Anne?" She begged.

"We can." Nikis nodded. "It won't be pleasant for either of them, but we can." Ari slumped in relief.

"I want to stay with Ari." Anne declared and everyone looked at her. "She doesn't deserve to pass away alone." Mishka nodded from where she stood as well.

"I think I would like that." Ari smiled a bit tremulously at Anne, but then she looked at the silent warframe that stood beside Nikis' seat. "Esther?"

"I did this to you." Esther said quietly. "I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew that you were sick and I could help. I didn't… Ancestors, Ari, I never intended this!"

"I now." Ari sighed deeply and then turned back to Nikis. "What is to happen then? The Caretakers are not the evil I expected."

"Many of us have learned that quite recently." Nikis' voice was quite dry now. "There are many who will say you have been corrupted by them."

"Is compassion or empathy corruption?" Ari asked. "In that case? So be it. If they insist on not bothering to hear the truth, they can bite me." She froze, a horrified look crossing her face. It erased into a blank gaze that broke apart as well when Nikis laughed heartily.

"Nah, don't give the idiots ideas." Nikis snickered as more than one Elder stared at him in shock. "Someone might take you up on it and then where would you be? You don't want to be lunch."

Anne stared at him for a long moment before a small, tremulous smile crept onto her face. She nodded and retreated a step to huddle by Anne, who hugged her again.

"That said, there are still a few outstanding problems." Nikis said when it was clear Ari was done speaking. "The truth of the Caretakers is going to upset more than a few people. It is easy to hate, god knows, I am living proof of that. It is not so easy to learn to live with things that you detest." He paused as Ari raised hand. He shook his head. "This ain't a classroom, Ari. You got a question? Speak."

"I mean no disrespect." Ari said slowly. "But I did study quite a bit of history in my time. Orokin history in particular was rife with betrayals." She swallowed hard and slumped as Anne held her. "Is it possible that the _Caretakers_ are being deceived?"

At that, everyone tensed. Nikis looked at Anne who frowned but then bowed her head. None of the Elders would meet Ari's gaze as she looked around. Finally Nikis broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Possible? Yes." Nikis was quiet and reflective rather than angry so Ari relaxed a little. "As many philosophers have put it throughout history, _anything_ is possible." He shrugged. "Now as to whether or not it is _probable_?" He shook his head. "Proving a negative is always hard and this time, it is fairly difficult for other reasons. The major problem is that the mass mind cannot be easily examined. No matter how it _acts_ , it is still a mass of Infested biomass and as such, it is incredibly dangerous to be in close proximity with as a result. Anyone trying to examine it runs the risk of Infestation and few will take such a risk for curiosity."

A shudder swept the room and Ari went still as Caretaker Jasmina stepped into view. The Caretaker was unarmed, and her posture was resigned. Another warframe -a Saryn Prime- _was_ armed, the Soma Prime she held sweeping to and fro as she sought targets. Jasmina stepped towards Ari whose face turned to fear.

"This is actually something we have discussed at length." Jasmina said quietly as Ari shrank back from her. The Ember Prime stopped short and shook her head. "You have nothing to fear from me, child."

"I want to believe you." Ari said, hiding her face in Anne's side. Anne just held her, crooning softly. "Anne and Mishka have been nice. But you..." She broke off as Anne hugged her and coughed.

"You have a reputation for breaking people who get in your way, Jasmina." Anne said dryly. Jasmina glowered at her an Anne shrugged. "You get hot. Tell me I am wrong."

"You are not." Most of the _room_ chorused. Ari startled herself with a laugh as Jasmina pouted dramatically. Even with her faceplate closed, her posture made her expression quite clear.

"Disrespectful wench!" Jasmina snapped, but it was humorous rather than heated. She wagged a finger at Anne. "I should send you to a punnery."

"No!" Anne cringed, but she too was joking. "No, my most benevolent mistress! _Anything_ but the _punnery_!" Ari was staring from Anne to Jasmina and back, her a face slowly easing into a grin as Anne cringed harder. "Tyrant. Next thing we know, you will demand lashes with the wet noodle!"

"Don't tempt me." Jasmina said to general mirth. Said mirth faded as Jasmina went to one knee to stare Ari in the face. "Ari, the Caretakers have discussed such. Indeed, the mass mind we serve has discussed it with us. Our greatest fear is that we may one day have to kill what we protect." A pin dropping might have sounded like a gunshot in the sudden silence. Ari gulped and Jasmina continued. "We are in completely uncharted territory now. We have no precedents for such, no guideline to follow. We adhere tightly to the Code as a result. We honestly do not know where we are going with this. But we have to try. We swore the oath. The quarantine may be gone, but what we protect is not. As of old, Caretakers will act to protect the public from Infestation and those who may be saved from the public."

"Why would you have to kill it?" Ari asked carefully. "If they are nice?"

"Ari, do you know what insanity is?" Jasmina asked. Ari looked confused and Jasmina nodded. "Insanity is a very loose term for mental problems. That kind of problem can take many forms. In humans or Tenno, such problems can be very bad. The Infested that became the mass mind started out that way. They do not want to go back, but as with anything that lives, the biomass that makes the mind up will die." Ari's face shifted from confusion to horror and Jasmina nodded. "So, what we have to do is add to the mass as bits of it dies."

"You..." Ari broke off and swallowed hard again. She felt odd and she could feel Anne turning to look at her.

"I can swear oaths, talk until I am blue in the face, but no one will trust when I say that we only take people who are already Infested beyond hope of cure or small masses of Infested flesh from other sources." Jasmina was sad now. "We do _not_ infect people with the Technocyte virus. Mainly because of how Tenno would react, but also, if we start bringing unwilling souls into the mass mind, it won't stay sane. Maintaining such is our charge now. We may not be able to. If not, it will be a sad day. I don't know if we will lose the humans and Elenia who have been merged to it for so long in such a case. I pray not to find out." She stiffened as Ari felt faint. "Ari? What? No! _Healer!_ "

Ari was floating now. She barely felt Anne's hand on her as the floor came up to meet her. Other hands were on her as the light around her dimmed. Something else touched her. Not a hand.

 _ **No.**_

The word was in her mind, but it wasn't anything Ari had ever experienced. No mental communication had ever felt like _that_. She was scooped up in warmth and she smiled as pain she had barely felt faded. She opened her eyes and went completely still. She wasn't in the room where she had been. She stared around wildly. The room was small, with a couch and an oddly shaped chair that she realized was designed to rock. Something orange hissed and sparked in a wall recess and it took her a moment to realize it was fire. She jerked back from it and a soft, kind voice sounded.

"The fire is contained. It cannot hurt you, girl." Ari spun to see an old, old human sitting in the rocking chair. The woman's face was sad. "This is not real, child Ari."

"Who are you?" Ari demanded and brought her hands up, only to freeze in place as she saw pink flesh and blood hands instead of smoky glass. "Wha-?"

"This is not real." The other repeated. "You are very close to death right now, child. For child you were when the Orokin remade you and child you have been ever since."

"The fractures." Ari said weakly. The other nodded. "I… I hoped for more time."

"Iriana and Healer are doing what they can." The other reassured her. "If it is even remotely possible to save you, they will." She chuckled little dryly. "Even if it is not, they may find a way. They are nothing if not tenacious." She held out a hand to Ari who eyed it. "You have nothing to fear from me, child. Jasmina spoke for us all. None of us wanted to fight. We have memories of fighting, of war, of death and destruction on scales so massive it boggles the mind. It makes us sick to contemplate such. We much prefer to help rather than harm."

"Who are you?" Ari repeated, not moving. If this was a virtual world, the other could be anyone, or any _thing_.

"We are what Jasmina and the other Caretakers protect." The old woman still had her hand out even as Ari recoiled a little. "You have nothing to fear from us, child. Even if we were actually there in the flesh, we could not subsume your form. You are the _one_ being in the entire solar system who is _truly_ safe from us." The representation of the mass mind slumped. "Because of what you are."

"Glass?" Ari demanded, half angry, half scared.

"Yes." The mass mind's form smiled at her. "You see… What was done to you mimics Technocyte Infestation. You do not have flesh or metal to be corrupted. Instead, your consciousness is scattered throughout your body's cells. If the Technocyte Virus were to attack and try to subsume you, your body would slough off the infected material and you would continue. Unpleasant to be sure, but survivable. Even if more than half of your body was lost, it would reform. You have done such before."

"How do you…?" Ari started and then paused. "The scans."

"Yes." The other said with a nod. "We have never encountered anything like you. As far as any Tenno or human records can determine, you are unique. Nikis spoke of the others that he saw..." She broke off as Ari stared at her. "What?"

"What _others_?" Ari demanded and then gave an 'eep' as two forms appeared beside the rocking chair. A male form in Tenno robes and a woman in white whose face was hidden.

"Ari, please be calm." The woman said as she took a slow step towards Ari who retreated a step. "The healers can save you this time, but you need to be calm. Anne is crying, Ari. Please, don't make Anne cry."

"She will push. It is what she is." The male Tenno spoke in _Nikis'_ voice, but he was unarmed and his arms were crossed over his chest. "Ari, you want to rest now or do you want to go back to your friends? None of us have the right to choose for you."

"What _others_?" Ari demanded, anger rising. All three of the others in the room looked at one another and then the woman in white -Janet?- raised a hand. Ari went still as a wall lit up with a scene she remembered. Her home, but… There was a door in a place that had no door. It opened to a room, but the room wasn't one she knew and she knew the whole place! "Where? What?" Ari stammered.

"That is a room you were programmed not to go into." Janet said slowly. "That you are programmed not to think about. Ari, there is an old saying, what has been seen cannot be unseen. That was not true in the world the Orokin built. That room is where you were made into what you are. Do you really want to see? It will hurt you."

" _NO!_ " A scream heralded Anne stumbling into the room. Before Ari could recover, Anne had Ari in her arms and tears were falling. "No! No, Ari. Don't! We can help you! We can give you more time!"

"It is not our choice, Anne." Janet said heavily. "It is _hers_." Nikis didn't move and neither did the representation of the mass mind.

Ari was reeling from all of this as Anne hugged her tight enough to hurt. She stared from Nikis to Janet, to the old human who wasn't one and then at Anne who was still crying.

"They made me a child." Ari said softly. Nikis and Janet nodded. "So I would gain people's trust and then spy on them." It was not a question.

"Yes." Janet sounded as if she too were fighting tears.

"How many…. Before me, master Tenno?" Ari asked, hugging Anne.

"I saw about a dozen. Most in pieces." Nikis said heavily. "Wasn't really focused on that. Was trying to burn out the bioweapon, not ferret out dirty Orokin laundry."

"And now, time has destroyed the place." Ari said softly. "I saw what was left of it when Esther found me. Nothing but a ruin." Nikis nodded. "You have been there? Since?"

"Once." Nikis allowed. "I set wards and telltales, but most of them have faded since then. The workshop was trashed, a tree had grown up through it."

"Then, no." Ari hugged Anne and slowly turned her back on the screen. "The past is past. I will deal with the now and the future. Anne..."

"Ari." Anne cried as she hugged the girl.

"I think…." Ari gave herself a shake. "I think I would be honored to meet your friends." She smiled at the mass mind who smiled back as the wall shimmered and returned to blankness.

"The honor is ours, Ari."


	19. Chapter 19

**Conflicts of Intent**

Esther stood frozen as the healers worked on Ari. She had know, intellectually, that Ari was very sick and she had known after being told that she had caused it. But this… She slumped a little, aware yet again of the massive weight hanging on her back.

"It is not your fault." A completely unexpected voice shocked Esther back to awareness and she stared at the human who she had infected with the nanobots. Anne was still crying. "You didn't know."

Esther did not respond. She glared at the human and then at Nikis who ignored her, focusing on the two mismatched healers working. Normally, the sight of an Infested Ancient was enough to get Esther angry and ready to fight, but this time it was different somehow. Maybe it was the half of the conversation that Healer Iriana was having with the Ancient or maybe it was all the other shocks. The mere thought of sentient Infested was more than ludicrous, it was _blasphemous!_ But… Then the Caretakers had said their piece and then that hologram of Dust. Esther had never met Dust, but many of the Elders _had_. Mavri in particular seemed to think it was the real Dust, but then again, he had been corrupted, hadn't he?

Nothing made sense anymore. Esther was Tenno, a living weapon trained and honed by the fires of war for longer than she could remember. She knew her place and her skills.

So why was she suddenly so conflicted?

The Gara warframe clad Tenno ignored everything but the still form on the floor and both healers worked.

"She didn't blame you." Anne said softly. "No matter what, it wasn't your fault."

"Go away." Esther growled and stiffened as Jasmina was suddenly between the pair. Rachel moved with slightly more decorum to stand by the Caretaker, but her Soma Prime was up and off safe, Esther noticed.

'Anne, she won't change her mind." Jasmina laid a hand on Anne's shoulder, a shoulder that Esther suddenly realized was glass! She was still transforming. "To her and her ilk, we are monsters to be slaughtered. We don't have thoughts or feelings or anything. We exist only for them to kill."

The words might have been bitter or angry. They were not. Indeed, they were _sad_. Jasmina wasn't angry. If anything, she was resigned.

"There has to be another way, Jasmina!" Anne begged as Jasmina pulled her away from Esther.

"I hoped for such." Jasmina sighed deeply. "I hoped in vain. Tenno are what we are. Thinking is not required, only action." Again, not angry. "Healer doesn't think there is anything they can do."

"I know." Anne slumped as Jasmina led her to the other side of the room. "But she is a good kid!"

"Good kids die every day, Anne." Jasmina said flatly. "It is sad, and we have to recognize that or we become what we are supposed to fight, ravening monsters who only seek blood and death. She will be remembered."

"It is not enough! She suffered enough!" Anne snapped and something inside Esther snapped as well.

"And she deserves a long rest." Jasmina agreed and but then stiffened as Esther moved. She had her Glaive in hand and Rachel had her Soma up and aimed as Esther strode to where Anne stood.

"Why?" Esther asked quietly, her arms folded across her chest. She knew that trying to draw the ax or sue it was futile without orders from the convocation. She had tried once. Once. The excruciating pain that had flared in her mind still echoed, a warning.

"Why what?" Anne demanded. "Why feel for a sick child? Why hope that she can have as normal a life as possible despite everything that happened to her? Why have feelings?" She slumped a bit. "Because I am human. _I_ am not a weapon. _I_ have a heart." Esther stared at her as Anne winced and touched her shoulder. "Until the transformation kills it anyway."

"I am sorry." Esther was stunned to her those words coming out of her mouth. "I thought the First could help you."

"They can." Anne sighed. "They will amputate and regrow my arm. But Ari has to die first so the nanobots will deactivate." Esther felt her guts freeze as that as Anne gave a sob. But her next words… "And I don't want her to die!"

"Neither do I." Esther found herself nodding. She slowly bowed to Anne. "For the injury, I apologize. Is there nothing that can be done for Ari?" This was to Rachel and Jasmina who both shook their heads.

Anne and Jasmina looked at Rachel who heaved a sigh as her Soma lowered slightly. Not all the way.

"Nothing in any of our records shows any way to stop such fractures." Rachel admitted. "She is not flesh and blood, she is Orokin biotech and when it breaks, it breaks. It is incredibly durable and self repairing, but there are limits. Her draining and then your attempt to help was too much. You did the only thing you could and it _did_ save her, but it also hurt her. She does not blame you."

"She wouldn't." Esther slumped.

All four of them spun when Iriana gave a sob and slumped back from Ari's still form. The Healer Ancient stood up slowly and laid a tentacle on Iriana's shoulder. Iriana clasped it with both hands, tears streaming.

"She is gone." Iriana said heavily. "The mass mind eased her passing, but it couldn't stop her. They felt that they didn't have the right to cause her further pain. Holding her would have hurt her." She would have spoken again, but went still as Esther dropped to her knees.

"I have slain an innocent." Esther said heavily. "My life is forfeit."

"She didn't blame you!" Iriana snarled, sadness replaced by anger. Her eyes were flashing, never a good sign."There has been enough death today! Get up!" She advanced on Esther who rose and retreated from the Healer's wrath. "Don't be stupid, Tenno. You are needed, now more than ever. What is _one_ innocent life worth anyway?"

Esther jerked as Iriana brushed past her to take Anne's flesh and blood hand in her own. Esther stiffened as she saw how pale Anne was. The human looked about ready to faint.

"Anne." Iriana said kindly. "I have a room set up for you. We will do the procedures here and you will sleep through them."

"Iriana." Anne wailed as the healer took hold of her and guided her towards a door.

"You will wake at home with your husband beside you." Iriana promised as Anne slowly wilted. "We will all help you. For now though, listen to me and do what I say, okay?"

Whatever Anne said in response was cut off as the door hissed shut behind her and the Healer. Everyone stared at the small form in shock and then Esther stilled as the Ancient held out a tentacle to Jasmina who held something white for it to grasp. Esther felt her shock redouble as the Ancient slowly spread out a sheet of white fabric over Ari's still form. The Infested creature was gently _covering_ the dead child! Was showing _respect_ to Esther's friend! What kind of _Infested_ …?

Esther felt every ounce of breath leave her body as she realized that _everything_ the Caretakers had said was true. There really _were_ sentient Infested who didn't want to fight. She stared from the Ancient to Jasmina who nodded, silent. Then she stepped forward, every eye in the area drawing to her.

"She never said what, if anything, she believed." Esther said quietly as she went to her knees beside the now shrouded body of her friend. "I never asked."

"Most Orokin didn't like the thought of their slaves following anything but them." The golden gowned woman named Michelle said quietly from where she had stood silent for this entire time. "Say what you will, Tenno Esther. I don't think she would mind."

Esther took a moment to think and then she spoke slowly and evenly.

"I was searching for relics in a derelict Orokin tower when I found Ari." The Gara warframe was quivering with Esther's grief. "I thought she was a statue at first. Then she spoke to me and it was all I could do not to blast her." She shook her head. "She was so scared of me and so weak. She begged me not to kill her. And now? I have. Ancestors forgive me, I have." She turned to Nikis. "Will she go into the database?"

"That is forbidden." An unexpected voice had everyone turning to where Sun stood, his writing paused. "She is a construct."

"So?" Nikis hawked and spat. "Many _Tenno_ are constructs, in case you _forgot_." The scorn in his voice might have cut steel. "And no. You _ain't_. Go back to your writing or face _my_ punishment." Everyone jerked at the cold malice in the Nekros' words. "I let Nyx have first crack at you, but I will get my own for you sneaking in here and kidnapping people out of my convocation to enslave them."

"I am within my rights to demand the cadaver." Sun said quietly. He didn't react as everyone else in the room glared at him, Jasmina and Healer in particular were glaring so hard, it should have rendered the Loki Prime warframe to ash.

"Just when I think you cannot stick your foot into your mouth any deeper." Nikis sighed deeply. "I said 'No'. Nyx said 'no'. _Hayden_ said 'No'. You think _anyone_ here is gonna say 'yes' to you dissecting this poor girl to try and make better spy bots? Not a chance in hell." He shook his head and focused on Esther. "To answer your question, Tenno Esther, no. I cannot touch her energy. None of the Guardians would be able to. She is gone." Esther's shoulders fell but she nodded.

"I am sorry, Ari." Esther laid her hand on the still form under the shroud seeking something, anything. But there was no energy, no nothing. She looked up at Healer and Jasmina. "I was wrong about you."

"No, actually you were not." Jasmina said heavily. "We are a threat to the status quo. We are a threat, period, so..." She turned to Rachel and her Glaive vanished from her hand as she bent to one knee and crossed her arms. "Sister to Sister, yours in Life and Death."

"Sister to Sister." Rachel replied just as formally. "Yours in Life and Death." She laid a hand on Jasmina's shoulder and gave a squeeze. "I honor you for your wish to remain apart, to preserve our neutrality, but Tenno are anything but neutral. We will aid you, sister. All of you." She nodded to Healer who nodded back. Her gaze swept the room and more than one Elder quailed under it. "And any further attacks on _anyone_ in my area of responsibility will be met with a proper response."

No quibbling. No doubt. No mercy. If anyone attacked any of the Caretakers or their wards again, it would be taken as an attack on the _First_. Such would not end well. Few would want to dare that. Fewer still could manage such and of those? They _knew_ better.

"Mitchell's complaint was deemed valid, heard and acted on." Nikis said formally. "The attack on his mate was verified, documented and deemed an act of aggression. Such can be punished under the Code. However, the Caretakers have chosen _not_ to seek punishment for the attack on Anne."

" _What?_ " More than one Elder chorused that with Esther as she jerked to her feet, staring at Jasmina and Healer.

"Tenno fight. It is what we do." Jasmina said softly as she moved to stand behind Rachel who finally lowered her Soma Prime all the way. Healer shimmered and vanished in the glow of a portal transit. "We find ways to defeat our enemies, whoever or wherever they may be. This could have gone very badly, but we determined from the beginning that we would not fight other Tenno. If our lives had been demanded, we would have offered them. Sadly, but willingly. We honor the Code."

Esther stared at the Caretaker, her breath short despite her warframe. Then, she slowly bowed, a full formal kowtow to Jasmina. She held it as many of the Elders did the same. Jasmina looked at Rachel who nodded. Then the Ember returned the bow with equal formality. She rose with Esther.

"I have wronged you, Sister." Esther said softly. "How may I seek to provide restitution?"

"Fight, Tenno." Jasmina said firmly. "Fight for your life, for your soul, for your honor. If you have need, you may call me for assistance. I cannot pledge more than that now, but my own arm and powers will be at the side of the Tenno as they face the enemies that pollute this system. We are what we are. Now and always..." She held up a clenched fist and shouted to the ceiling.

"WE ARE TENNO!"

The return roar from Esther and the others should have brought the roof down.

* * *

Later

All of the Elders were gone. All of the others were gone, even the rehabilitated Grineer who were lost and adrift now with their purpose for being gone. Some people had offered them employment, but they really had no idea what to do. Ari had helped each and every one of them and they felt her loss as keenly as Esther did. They had gone to Rilla's colony for the moment, but hopefully would find some kind of employment that didn't involve fighting and dying.

Now, there were only three people left in the convocation hall as well as a number of shades. Nikis sat in his chair as Sun finished his writing and shook out his wrist. Ara lay where she was. She wasn't conscious and would not be for some time.

"Do we really have to do this?" The Loki demanded as he moved to stand in front of Nikis.

"You will not attempt to infiltrate the Citadel again." Nikis declared. "Rachel can and will shoot you on sight if she catches you out of bounds. If you want to peruse the records, you may feel free to put in a request. If she deems the request worthy, you will be allowed in, but you will be escorted at all times. And then you will leave. If you attempt to spy on or suborn anyone, you will be tossed out on your ass. If your resist, you will be tossed out in as many pieces as she deems fit."

"Nikis..." Sun started only to stiffen as the Nekros rose from his chair, a wicked looking black scythe appearing in his hands. An Ether Reaper, but even more evil looking than usual.

"We may occasionally work together, Sun." Nikis said firmly. "But our methods are very different. We both lie for a living, but in all things, there are limits. I have never enslaved Tenno and you know it. You _have_."

"When I had no choice, yes." Sun drew his staff and set a guard stance. He didn't bother with invisibility. It would just make Nikis angrier. "You know the job."

"I do." Nikis allowed. "But I left Intelligence a long, long time ago and told all of you creeps to shove it. My soul is stained enough with what I have to do for my job, I don't need you coming in and trying to do what you do. You know better than to try this kind of shit with me."

Without warning, his scythe lashed out. Sun blocked it, but the sheer power in the enraged Nekros' strike rocked the Loki back. He parried the strikes that were coming in faster and faster. Nikis did not even seem to be trying hard!

"You forget your place, master spy and interrogator that you are." Nikis slammed Sun with the haft of his scythe. Sun managed to block it, but the sheer force tossed the Loki back. He hit the wall and kicked off to land on his feet as Nikis stalked towards him. "You are bad news and scary in your field, but you of all people should remember that there is always someone more powerful!"

"You keep saying that." Sun snarled as he set his Bo Prime whirling, trying to keep Nikis back. "But who is more powerful than _you?_ " He was not expecting Nikis to pause.

'Do you really want to know?" Nikis asked in a mild tone. "I was just gonna kick your ass for a while, but if you _really_ want to know?" Sun nodded savagely, but did not speak.

"Nikis! _Don't!_ " Trinity stepped out of the mass of shades, her tone fearful. She screamed as pure orange energy flew from Nikis' hands to swarm around Sun. He wasn't going anywhere encased in a a temporal bubble. "Nikis!"

"He won't mind." Nikis said mildly. "Not for this."

"On _your_ head then!" Trinity snapped. She bent down and covered up Ara's from with her energy. Other shades did the same until Ara's unconscious form was covered in a hemisphere of golden power.

" _Do_ you mind?" Nikis asked softly. He wasn't speaking to anyone present. Was he?

"Not really." A small human shape stepped out of nowhere. He was unimpressive. He wore a sturdy looking shirt, odd baggy pants with huge pockets that had some kind of pattern all across them and well worn boots. He carried no weapons. He had blonde hair that was cut very short but his eyes… They were starting to glow silver! "Enslaving others because it is _expedient_ really pisses me off."

"Yeah, me too." Nikis allowed. Then he snickered. "You startled the hell out of Crowley that time, you know?"

"She _asked_." He couldn't be human. Not a chance. No human could _possibly_ banter such with Nikis. "Who am _I_ to deny a princess such a request? Especially one who acted _that_ way? I have seen far too many spoiled brats and far too few for whom responsibility is the norm."

"Yeah, Michelle is a good one." Nikis agreed. "Sun is not a bad person, he just… He has to know stuff."

"I know the type." The odd not-quite-a-human agreed. "Want me to… um… educate him? I give you my word, I won't kill him."

"If you want." Nikis looked around the room and sighed. "Never wanted this job anyway and now? This place is known, so it will be dismantled soon. Yeah, knock yourself out."

The Nekros strode over to the hemisphere of energy and eased himself into it, another dome of orange energy surrounding it. The human smiled at the sphere for a moment before waving at the sphere where Sun was contained. The Loki reappeared, and he stood, shocked as he stared around, not seeing Nikis.

"Hello, Sun." The not-a-human said with a nod. "In all things, there are limits. I am a warden and you have _really pissed me off_."

Then he shifted to his true form.

Sun was tough, he didn't scream for a bit, but then his screams lasted quite a while.


	20. Chapter 20

**Home is where the heart is**

Ara woke up and kept herself from moving by sheer force of will. Part of her was surprised to wake up. The rest of her was sad. She was no longer in her warframe or... No, the feeling was very familiar. She was in a virtual world. She heard a familiar voice and had to smile as Jasmina drawled.

"Morning, sleepy head."

Ara sighed and opened her eyes. What met them had her freezing. She stood on a virtual plain, but it was _packed_ with beings. Jasmina stood nearby, clad in her warframe. There were dozens of shades, some she knew, others she did not. That paled beside the mass of Infested that sat beside Jasmina, eyeing Ara. She saw Chargers, Ancients, Runners, Leapers and many, many other forms. Some she had no words for.

"I was not sure I would wake up." Ara admitted as she sat up. A familiar head pushed into her hand and she smiled at Liriel as the Kavat demanded her attention. She petted the Kavat and the animal's purrs were loud in the echoing stillness. "I broke my parole."

"Saving me from slavery." Jasmina knelt down beside Ara and took hold of the hand that was not busy with the Kavat. "And keeping me from harming my friends."

A feeling of compassion swept over Ara from the Ember Prime. It felt so familiar, and yet, so alien. It was heavenly, but she pushed it away.

"I have to go back into cryo." Ara said as she rose. Liriel made a sad noise of protest and she scratched the Kavat's head again.

"Do you?" Jasmina inquired as she stepped back.

"I cannot change what I am, Sister." Ara said quietly, focusing on giving the Kavat what she wanted. The animal's purrs became thunderous. "I tried. Trinity and others tried. I am what I am. A monster."

"I am a monster too." Jasmina shrugged. "Maybe not quite as blatant as you are, but my rage is excessive. Don't think you are the only one with thoughts of self destruction." Ara jerked and Jasmina chuckled. There was surprisingly little mirth in it. "Or did you think we wouldn't know when you tried to use me to kill yourself?"

"You needed the energy and the control." Ara said with a shrug of her own. "My life is meaningless."

"I beg to differ." Ara went still as a shade stepped out of the pack. Trinity wore robes instead of a warframe and she had been crying. "We are all angry, Ara. Every last one of us. But even now, I am not angry with _you_. I am angry with the complete morns who made you like this for their own sick amusement."

"I earned your wrath." Ara said weakly as Liriel pushed up against her leg, seeking more petting.

"You did." Trinity agreed. She shook her head. "You were my best student and it took a long time for me to figure out why. You never got distracted, not by pain, not by fear, not by anything."

"I worked hard never to lie to you." Ara slumped a little. "I tried so hard, Trinity. I couldn't stop it. I can't stop it. Even now, I feel the need to kill."

"I know." Trinity bowed her head. "Ara, Jasmina has a thought and I think it is a good one."

"Trinity, I accepted my punishment." Ara protested. "I honor the Code and I hurt you all. The punishment was clear and I accepted it."

"True." The ancient Shade nodded. "But when does punishment end and torture begin?"

"I don't feel in cryo, Trinity." Ara knelt again. "I accept my fate. I won't cause trouble for the Tenno."

"No, you won't." Jasmina agreed. She looked at Trinity who bowed to her. Ara stilled as the shades started vanishing.

"What?" Ara asked, confused. "I thought they would watch as I went back in."

"You are not going into cryo." Jasmina had a smile in her voice now. "I made alternate arrangements. This is not something that will happen often, but now? You earned it with your actions at the convocation. Be warned, this is not an amnesty. I found you a job, and a hard one. One that you will do for the rest of your days."

"Jasmina." Ara pleaded. "I can't! If I am around humans, I will give in eventually. I cannot stop myself. I feel the need to kill humans even now."

"You won't be around humans." Jasmina nodded as the Infested around her also started vanishing. "The place you will be is part prison, part tomb, part vault. It has guardians, but it also has needs. They need another set of hands to keep the place functioning."

"You are going to make me a caretaker?" Ara asked, confused.

"You are _already_ a Caretaker, Sister." Jasmina stepped forward and put her arms around Ara gently. "We know our own and frankly? I don't share your need to kill humans, but I don't like them much most of the time."

"They have done both wonders and horrors." Ara admitted, staring at Jasmina too scared to move. "Jasmina, if I have the chance to go free, I will take it. I know my own limits. If I get loose..."

"You won't." Jasmina's hug hurt but Ara held her tongue as the world fell away.

Ara found herself lying on a beach under a familiar sky. Earth. She wore her warframe, but had no weapons. She had very limited energy reserves and no artifacts equipped. She stared up at the sky and shook her head. She could be anywhere on Earth. She hadn't seen many record, but she had seen that some places on Earth had recovered from the Collapse enough to be habitable. From the sounds all around her and the heat, she was nowhere near the Cetus Reclamation Colony.

She stood up, aware of her acute vulnerability. No sounds impacted her, no wavelengths that she could detect, nothing but the drone of insects and the distant calls of hunting Kubrows.

"Where the hell am I?" Ara mused as she started for a hill she saw in the near distance. She jerked as she saw a cave mouth, but she ignored it to climb the low hill. When she did, she came to a sudden halt.

The island she stood on was tiny. It was one of several islands in a tight group and none of them could have possibly been a square kilometer in size. But that was odder was that the islands were obviously artificial. A much larger landmass shone in the distance, but she could barely see it and she could see waterborne life swimming around in the space between the man made islands and the larger one. Warframes did not swim well and they did need to breathe since they were alive. Biotech or no, they needed oxygen just like most other forms of known life. Without some means of transport, she was stuck and…

"Gonna stand there all day?"

Ara felt every ounce of breath leave her body at the familiar voice. The _impossible_ voice. She didn't move, didn't speak. A hand found her arm and gave a squeeze.

"Hello Ara."

Ara's found her vision to be blurring as she turned her head and saw a specter that had the form of a Valkyr warframe standing behind her. It had the colors that Nisa had worn in life. But Nisa was dead. Dead and gone. Drained by the terrible weapon she had forged.

"Is this some kind of _joke?_ " Ara demanded tightly.

"Oh, I dunno." The voice was pure Nisa. Amused and worried in equal parts. " _Life_ is a joke sometimes, is it not?" That was pure Nisa too. But…

"This is not possible." Ara said weakly.

"Possible or no, I need you to put this one and come with me." The pseudo Nisa held out a collar. Ara stared at it. It was a tracking and punishment collar of the type the Orokin had preferred for their slaves. Once it went around her neck, it wasn't coming off. Even warframes were not proof against such if put on willingly. "I don't have a lot of time, Ara. I am on internal power and that is not infinite. Jasmina spoke eloquently on your behalf and Chris _does_ need help. I can't go a lot of the places that need repairs now. You _can_. Please, Ara."

"Is this my punishment?" Ara demanded tightly. "To be _enslaved_?"

"It is the only way you will be allowed in, Ara." Nisa said quickly and then gasped as the energy around the Specter faded visibly. "Ara! _Please!_ "

"Did you love me?" Ara asked, staring at the collar.

"With all my heart." The specter said sadly. "I failed you. The-" Whatever else was she was going to say was cut off as her body crumpled. Ara caught it and then, without another through, slipped the collar around her neck. It didn't activate! "In… the… cave..." The specter managed to speak and then it went limp in Ara's hands.

Ara ran down the hill and into the cave without another thought. A familiar glow heralded a portal transit just as she passed the cave mouth and suddenly, she was elsewhere. The specter in her hands started to glow again and Nisa's voice was a welcome thing.

"You can put me down, Ara. We are here."

Ara set the Specter on its feet and Nisa or whoever nodded to her as Ara looked around. What met her gaze didn't make any sense. Where she stood was well lite, but the rest of the area was cast in gloom. The area was vast, obviously underground and artificial, but it had been made up to to look quasi-natural. The ground looked like ancient cobblestones, but it was actually made of Orokin concrete and was flat enough to be firm footing. Arrows pointed away from where the pair stood, some marked with odd things. 'Aquarium'? Tomb'? 'Dolphins'? 'Kraken'? There was a window marked 'Concessions'. Why did that sound so familiar? She had been here. Hadn't she? Her memory was faulty from the long stint in cryo, but it was incredibly familiar.

"Dolphins." Ara said slowly. "Earth aquatic mammals with a high level of intelligence even before the Orokin started tinkering."

"Yes." The thing that seemed so like Nisa agreed.

"But Kraken were not real." Ara mused. "Wait. Orokin. They genetically engineered something?"

"Told you she was sharp." Nisa had a smirk in her voice now. "Ara, I would like to introduce you to some people."

Ara went still as dozens of warframes came out of the gloom surrounding them. No, these were all _specters_. Well, all but _one_. The Hydroid Prime stood out like a glaring beacon despite its dark and forbidding colors. It was the only male form in the area.

"Hello Ara." The Hydroid nodded other. "I am Chris. The collar is not active and it will not be unless you try to leave."

"Insurance." Ara mused. "Wise." More than one of the specters nodded to her and she shook her head. "This is not possible. The sword killed Nisa."

"It did." Nisa agreed. "But before it did, I preserved some of myself into a specter. I couldn't go back. I had to hide the sword, protect it from the Orokin and from the Ancient Enemy."

"The sword killed her!" Ara snapped, anger rising. "She was so nice to me and it killed her!"

"You reminded me of better times. Of laughter and light." Nisa sighed. "I hurt you, leaving the way I did but the Ancient Enemy had to be stopped. You know our duty, Ara."

"I..." Such a familiar almost argument. "I… Nisa?" She pleaded. Metal arms enfolded Ara as she started to cry.

"I am here, dear heart." Nisa promised as Ara bawled. "And now? So are you."

"Welcome home."

* * *

Far across the solar system

Janet fought a smile as she cut the vision. A happy ending of sorts. She would keep a distant eye on Ara, of course. The Tenno's need to kill could not be ended by anything other than death, but as many had said, she didn't truly deserve such. She had never preyed on the innocent or helpless. In fact, what very few knew was what lengths Ara _had_ gone to to _help_ the innocent and the helpless on occasion.

Case in point…

It was hard to keep an angry look on her face as she focused on the room and the nervous faces in it, but Janet managed.

"Did you even bother to check the probabilities, Caroline?" Janet demanded of her subordinate. "Did you even look to see the repercussions?"

"I did, Janet." The sea turtle sounded calm, but Janet knew the other was worried. " We did. The girl would have died alone and unremarked by any except Esther. Any chance of the Caretakers winning any support from other Tenno would have failed with her. They _had_ to see the Caretakers as they truly are, not as history paints them to be. Tenno and allies, not simply Infested."

"And you needed me to react as I did." Janet mused. The sea turtle nodded. "I am not happy with you."

"We _did_ look at all the variables." Caroline offered. "We do not have your power, but we do have many differing viewpoints to see all of them." Janet glared at her and Caroline winced. "Okay, not all. _None_ of us saw Nikis involve _him_."

"The wardens of reality are utterly neutral in most cases." Janet said flatly. "They have to be. That said, no one dares to try and police _them_. It would hurt as Sun found out. That Nikis is on a first name basis with one actually does not surprise me but _we_ have to be very cautious. Ess is not happy with Nikis at the moment. We will want to be _far_ away from that discussion."

More than one of the listeners winced. Nikis was bad enough. When he started playing with reality? Things got worse.

A soft cry drew every eye to where a bubble of fluid floated in midair with an amorphous form in it. Janet waved a hand and the other Oracles vanished. Janet moved to the bubble and smiled widely as she saw eyes open.

"Hello Ari." The Oracle could not have missed the fear in the other's eyes even if she had missed the spike of terror. "Do not be afraid. Your form disintegrated, but you were removed from it before that."

 _That is not possible._ Ari's soft words held confusion, but her fear was fading.

"Where Healer Iriana, Healer of the Caretakers, The First Trinity, Ariana Arachne and many others are involved?" Janet smiled wide. "Impossible runs and hides if it has _any_ sense at all."

She touched the bubble with a finger and it popped. A human form fell out and Janet caught the falling female form in a gentle grip of telekinetic power. She lowered the struggling form it its feet and shook her head.

"Don't try to push too hard, Ari." Janet said with a sigh. "That body has never exercised." Ari started to cover herself up, but Janet wove a telepathic hologram of clothes around her and Ari relaxed a little. Only a little.

"Oracle Janet? Where am I?" Ari demanded. "What happened?"

"Your body fell apart." Janet said gently. "I know this is a shock. You are on Titan. You are safe, Ari. You are safe." She reassured the other as Ari started to cry. She couldn't physically touch Ari, but telekinesis was useful for all kinds of things. Her form wrapped Ari in hug that she made sure was warm and gentle.

"They said there was no way." Ari said weakly. "That nothing could save me."

"No _healing_ could save you, no." Janet agreed. "Your mind was distributed across too many biotech cells to be pulled out by any known means." Ari stared at her and then down at herself. She started as she saw pink hands.

"I died." Ari said weakly.

"Yes, you did." Janet hugged her again. "But you got better. Ara pulled parts of you out of the bits that were in Anne. She did ti to study and she was shocked when it morphed into a perfect copy of your mind. She contacted me and I took custody of you with no one else the wiser. You are truly safe here. and now? You are free."

"I don't understand." Ari said sadly.

"You warned your compatriots that you could not stop the nanobots after they had been put into others." Janet said quietly. Ari nodded, mystified. "Well, someone else had the codes."

"What?" Ari pleaded as she hugged Janet back.

"I don't know how he got them, and frankly, I don't think I want to know." Janet said with a sigh. "But a Tenno Grandmaster had the codes for your self. For your nanobots."

"Why?" Ari pleaded.

"I will let him explain." Janet gave Ari another hug and then stepped away as the girl wilted in distress.

Ari gave an 'eep' as a familiar white armored form appeared nearby. Sun was impassive as always, but Janet could see nervousness mixed with pain. He had gotten what he wanted, information. It was a miracle that the author had been in reasonably a good mood. Such a meeting could have gone very badly indeed. Sun would be very careful about demanding information of Nikis for a while.

"Ari." The Tenno interrogator sounded unsure for once. "Are you well?"

"How can I be _well_?" Ari demanded. "I died! All of my friends must think I am dead!"

"They do." Sun agreed.

"Well, now I cannot help you!" Ari snapped. "I don't have nanobots in this form, do I?"

"No." Sun agreed. "You don't."

"What do you want?" Ari asked, suddenly tired. She goggled as Sun _knelt_ in front of her.

"To beg your forgiveness."

"What?" Ari asked, suddenly breathless.

"You were born human." Sun bowed his head. "Your name was Aerie Sorge. Your mother and father loved you very much. Your mother was sick and your father took you to someone who he was told would take care of you. Me. I did what I could. Your mother and father had any number of problems, and then you vanished out of my home. It took some time for your father and me to find out that an Orokin had taken you. They had heard you singing and loved your voice. They wanted you so they took you. When he found you, you didn't remember who and what you had been." Ari stared at him, completely flummoxed. "You had a new life, albeit as a slave to an Orokin. Not the one who had hurt you, but another who had purchased you and then altered your body into the glass form. They treated you well and your father had to go. He had so many things he had to do. He couldn't help you and that tore at him until the day he perished in the Collapse. He was my friend. I don't have many friends. I never have, I never will. He asked me to look after you and I failed."

Janet had to admire how he spun truth and lies into a solid story so effortlessly. She didn't like him, or trust him, but he _was_ very good at what he did.

"What was his name?" Ari asked, stunned.

"His name was Derek and yes, before you ask, he was Tenno as was his wife." Sun sighed deeply. "That makes you kin."

"What happens now?" Ari asked.

"That is up to you." Sun rose and nodded to the girl who wilted.

"I do not know what to do." Ari admitted.

"I will leave you two to talk." Janet said gently. "But you can stay as long as you wish, Ari."

She cut her holo and formed another in a different room. This one had a Tenno sitting in a chair. Ess was sobbing as Janet took her in her arms and held her fellow Oracle. A screen showed Sun talking to Ari and the girl slowly relaxing as Sun spoke gently to her.

"We cannot tell her." Ess choked out between sobs. "He won't allow it."

"That is not his place to say. She is _your_ daughter too. He won't take her or use her." Janet said in a tone of iron. "Not now. She has no powers and her form is young. As young as she was when she was taken from your home to be used for their amusement."

"Janet… I... I can't!" Ess pleaded. "I cannot talk to her! I ran away, left her to be taken. I… I failed her."

"She is not going anywhere soon." Janet reassured her friend. "And if she chooses to make a home here? I would be honored to have her. Let anyone _try_ to take her again."

"Thank you." Ess said as she sobbed, still watching as her former husband spoke with their daughter to try and reassemble some of the shambles that had once long ago been their happy home.

* * *

 **I edited the second to last page. People were right, that was forced and cringe worthy. That isn't me that Nikis called. I am not a dragon.**


End file.
